NOIDA: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has served a notice to the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) over 40% of its sanctioned posts lying vacant. The NGT notice came after petitioner Varun Gulati said an RTI reply revealed that 293 of its 732 sanctioned posts are vacant, arguing that the UPPCB fails to ensure industries comply with environmental laws due to this staff shortage.On September 22, an NGT bench comprising Justice Prakash Shrivastava, chairperson; justice Sudhir Agarwal, judicial member; Dr A Senthil Vel, expert member, and Dr Afroz Ahmad, another expert member, issued a notice to the respondent (UPPCB) On September 22, saying the functioning of UPPCB has direct effect on the implementation of environmental laws. According to the petitioner, he filed an RTI application in April, asking the UPPCB for the details of sanctioned posts and vacancies. In its reply, the UPPCB said that of 732 sanctioned posts, 293 are vacant, i.e., the vacancies amount to 40% of the sanctioned strength. There are vacant posts in nearly all categories, like environmental engineer, assistant environmental engineer, accounting officer, typists, clerks, driver, etc., said Gulati.On September 4, Gulati moved a petition in the NGT, saying the UPPCB failed to act against thousands of illegal and polluting industries or factories operating in blatant violation of the environmental norms and rules in the state, attributing it to the acute staff shortage. Nearly 40% of the total posts of the UPPCB are lying vacant, so it has become nearly impossible for the current staffers to keep an eye on all illegal and polluting activities, he said in the petition.Similarly, the Noida and Ghaziabad pollution departments have only four-five staffers in its offices, which makes conducting enforcement drives difficult. However, the details of sanctioned strength in these two offices are unavailable.The next date of hearing is on December 14.On Saturday, Noida recorded an AQI of 84 and Ghaziabad an AQI of 92, both in satisfactory category, while in Greater Noida, the AQI was 124 in moderate category. With the winter season coming up, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has already issued directions for implementing the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) from October 1.We also published the following articles recently66% of engineers posts lying vacantA shortage of engineers is plaguing government departments in the state of Bihar, as 66% of positions remain unfilled. Out of the 16,293 sanctioned posts, only 5,470 are currently filled, leaving a vacancy of 10,823 engineers. The situation is particularly dire for senior positions, with 65 out of 69 chief engineer posts and all 11 engineer-in-chief posts lying vacant. The government has been assigning additional responsibilities to working engineers to compensate for the shortage, but requests for more recruitment or permanent positions have gone unanswered.Over 50% posts of teaching staff in Haryana colleges lying vacantOver 50% of teaching staff positions in state-run colleges in Haryana are vacant, with 4,738 assistant professor posts currently unfilled. The state government plans to fill these positions based on the workload of the institutions. A requisition for 1,535 assistant professor posts was sent to the Haryana Public Service Commission, but it is currently on hold due to amendments in the educational qualifications and eligibility criteria. The department will send a fresh requisition for all vacant posts based on the workload assessment for the next academic session.Nurses call for stir over vacant postsThe GMCH Nurses Welfare Association in Chandigarh is planning to protest against the non-filling of vacant posts and the lack of promotional positions in the nursing cadre. This issue has led to stagnation within the profession. In other news, a nurse in Ludhiana civil hospital has resigned following negligence leading to a patients death, while the Uttar Pradesh Service Commission has started registration for 2,240 staff nurse positions. Additionally, nursing students at Desh Bhagat University clashed with police and university administration during a protest.

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