PANAJI
With the three-month extension granted to GSPCB Chairman Mahesh Patil ending on Thursday, the government has appointed the Secretary (Environment) to take charge of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) until further notice.
As a temporary arrangement, senior environment engineer Sanjeev Joglekar will take over as Member Secretary of the Board. These interim steps have been taken as the government is yet to finalise the appointment of a new Chairman and Member Secretary. The order was issued by Director of Environment, Sachin Desai.
The current Board, led by Patil, was formed in January 2022. However, due to delays in appointing a new Chairman and Member Secretary – a post currently held by Shamila Monteiro – the government had extended the existing Board’s term by three months.
Eight candidates have applied for the post of Chairman. These include Mahesh Patil, Additional Collector (South) Srinit Kothwale, Biodiversity Board Member Secretary Pradeep Sarmokadam, and Commissioner of Labour and Employment Levinson Martins.
Others who have applied are former GSPCB Chairman Ganesh Shetgaonkar, Dr Dipak Gaitonde (Head of the Humanities and Science Department at Government Polytechnic), and Dr Ulhas Sawaikar (Professor and Head of the Mining Engineering Department at GCE).
Meanwhile, for the third time, the Environment Department has invited applications for the post of Member Secretary. The last date to apply is 11 April.
In response to the first two advertisements, five candidates had applied. These include current Member Secretary Shamila Monteiro, GSPCB Senior Environment Engineer Sanjeev Joglekar, Communidade Administrator Geeta Nagvenkar, and GSPCB Scientist Jenica Sequeira.
