India's Environmental Watchdog Struggles with 45% Vacancy Crisis: Govt Data Reveals Alarming Shortage

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India's pollution control boards are facing a severe crisis, with nearly 45% of key positions remaining vacant, according to government data. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) alone has a staggering 16.28% vacancy rate. This alarming shortage of field-level staff, including environmental engineers and scientists, has left the country's environmental monitoring and enforcement mechanisms crippled. The government has been informed that there are 393 sanctioned positions in the CPCB, but 64 remain unfilled. The state pollution control boards (SPCBs) have a total of 6,137 sanctioned positions, with 2,921 vacancies. Additionally, 402 positions in pollution control committees are vacant, with 176 unfilled. Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh, responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, revealed the extent of the crisis. He stated that the responsibility to fill these vacancies lies with the respective state governments or union territories. The alarming shortage of staff comes at a time when Delhi-NCR is grappling with severe air pollution. Pollution control boards play a crucial role in maintaining air and water quality. Experts have long warned about the capacity crunch in these boards and the lack of adequate monitoring of infrastructure and industry projects. In a bid to address these concerns, the Union environment ministry has put in place an environment monitoring framework, comprising environment auditing through registered environment auditors. The ministry has also notified the Environment Audit Rules 2025, which aim to identify projects violating environmental regulations.