Odisha’s State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) has topped in the Transparency Index rating list conducted by Center for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi.

The State’s apex pollution control panel is shouldering the responsibility of enforcing the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 in its attempt to improve the quality of air, promote cleanliness of water bodies and to prevent pollution.

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Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahaptra complemented the Member Secretary, SPCB K. Murugesan for achieving the top rank in transparency index.

The different stakeholders need to be proactively involved for effective environmental management. The involvement of the stakeholders would be helpful for the Board in enforcement of regulatory compliances for environmental governance, Chief Secretary Mahapatra said.

“The CSE did the assessment as per the provisions in Sec-17 ( C) and Sec 35 (2)  of Air Act,  Section 17 ( C) and Sec-39 (2)  of Water Act,  Environment Protection Action Act and various Waste Management Rules. The assessment focused on putting of the data regarding continuous emission monitoring, consent to establish and operate, public hearings for environmental clearance, show cause notices, directions and closure notices etc on public domain about  about 17 categories of industries”, SPCB Member Secretary Murugesan said.

The rating was done on the basis of 18 parameters relating to these focus areas.  The performance of all 31 State pollution Control Board and Pollution Control Committees operating in the country from 2016-2021 was taken into assessment process.

The outcome of the assessment placed Odisha State Pollution Control Board at the top with 67 percentage points. Telangana Board scored at par with Odisha followed by Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

The procedural re-engineering and administrative reform in SPCB, Odisha was started  from 2015 under the leadership of present Chief Secretary Mahapatra during his tenure as Principal Secretary and subsequently Additional Chief Secretary Forest & Environment department.

As of now the Board has put online   11 major services online including consent to establish, consent to operate, permissions regarding bio-medical waste management, hazardous waste management, solid waste management, online payment gateway, auto renewal, authorization under e-waste management, registration under plastic waste management, real time data from analyzers, and quality monitoring cameras. The Board has also rolled out a mobile application for redressal of public complaints in non-attainment cities.