Madras HC clears former TN chief secretary’s appointment as NGT expert – Hindustan Times

The Madras high court on Saturday vacated an interim stay on the appointment of former Tamil Nadu chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan as an expert member of the Southern Regional bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), ruling that she was qualified to hold the post.

Vaidyanathan’s counsel cited her tenures as the environment secretary and the chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for 2.5 years and also her stint as the health secretary for 2.5 years, when she was responsible for management of bio medical waste to argue she met the required criteria.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the first bench of chief justice Sanjib Banerjee and justice Senthikumar Ramamoorthy held that she possessed necessary qualifications to be appointed an expert member of the NGT’s southern bench. The bench observed that the former chief secretary had “dealt with environmental matters” as per clause (b) of the NGT Act, 2010. Vaidyanathan was Tamil Nadu chief secretary from December 2016 to June 2019.

Her appointment was challenged in a public interest litigation filed by Chennai-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Poovulagin Nanbargal. G Sundarrajan, who heads the NGO, argued that the NGT Act, 2010 mandates a person to have 15 years of administrative experience including five years of having dealt with matters of environment in the state or central government or in a reputed institution to qualify for the post. The court stayed her appointment on April 9, stating she prima facie didn’t meet the eligibility requirement. The court then also questioned the need to appoint bureaucrats without field experience to tribunals.