In news The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based non-profit, released the report ‘Transparency Index — Rating of Pollution Control Boards on Public Disclosure’.
About CSE Transparency Index-
There are 28 state pollution control boards (SPCB) and 6 pollution control committees (PCC) in the country that make pollution information public on websites.
CSE has released a report/index to assess the level of transparency maintained by these SPCBs and PCCs.
This report critically evaluates the information shared by SPCBs/PCCs during the last four-five years (2016–21) and uses several indicators that provide a broader indication on the type and amount of information shared.
Key findings:
Around 60% of the bodies scored less than 50% on the information disclosure parameters studied.
Only 14 boards scored above 50% in the index.
They are Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa, Karnataka, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The index’s analysis cited that most agencies are not transparentenough with information in the public domain.
Information on functioning, actions taken by boards against polluting industries, public hearing data on new projects etc are rarely disclosed, or are not even available on public websites.
TOP PERFORMERS: Pollution control boards of Odisha and Telangana (67%).
Tamil Nadu ranked a close second with 65.5% transparency,
Madhya Pradesh ranked third (64%)
West Bengal ranked fourth (62%)
Goa ranked fifth (60.6%).
Only five boards including Haryana have shared minutes of their board meetings on their websites.
Only five SPCBs including Himachal Pradesh have shared information on inspections conducted by the boards.
