RTI Reveals 30% Vacancies at Air Pollution Control Body, No Recruitment Plans
New Delhi: The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the statutory body responsible for monitoring air pollution in and around New Delhi, is facing a staff shortage, with no recruitment drive underway to fill the vacancies, an RTI response has revealed.
The RTI response, received by environmentalist Amit Gupta, showed that the CAQM was functioning with just 40 personnel against the sanctioned strength of 56, accounting for 70% of its sanctioned workforce.
The commission in its response also said that no recruitment process was underway to fill these vacancies.
CAQM is responsible for coordinating implementation of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), ensuring compliance and responding to pollution episodes during the winter. However, the information revealed in the RTI has raised concerns about its ability to perform these functions.
According to the RTI reply, three appointments were made last year, while one post was filled in 2024. The response does not mention any plan to address the remaining vacancies.
Separately, CAQM has issued a tender to appoint consultants for a Project Management Unit (PMU) to provide programme management, technical and analytical support.
A CAQM official quoted by the Times of India said that the PMU would strengthen the planning and implementation of annual action plans. “It will manage the GRAP control room and support programmes monitored through Integrated Information and Coordination Centre (I3C), all aimed at improving air quality in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas,” the official told the paper.
Bids for the PMU will open July 8, the report said.
Gupta said he requested information about staffing at the agency after their repeated failure to enforce pollution control norms.
“I wanted to know the staffing position of the apex body responsible for tackling NCR’s air pollution. If CAQM itself is short-staffed and has no recruitment plan, planning and implementation are bound to suffer,” he said.
Gupta said the number of vacancies had declined only from 18 to 16 since his previous RTI, despite recent appointments, including that of the member secretary.
"Critical responsibilities should not depend primarily on outsourced agencies. The Centre should fill these posts at the earliest," he said.
The staff shortage has come to light months after citizen groups urged the CAQM to treat air pollution as a year-round issue as opposed to treating it like a seasonal problem.
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