It is saddening to read about the closure of the Thamizhosai BBC Tamil Radio service (Tamil Nadu, “After 76 years, BBC Tamil radio to go off air”, May 1). During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, BBC Tamil was neutral and extensive in its coverage even though BBC was biased against India. During the 1967 general election, when the Indian National Congress’s popularity declined considerably, BBC was again objective. I recollect programmes such as “Paattondru Ketten”. Whenever an important event took place in India or Tamil Nadu, BBC Tamil was among the first to contact VIPs and air their opinions. The station also played a crucial role in presenting the ground reality in Sri Lanka by interviewing Sri Lankan Tamil politicians.
Cracking the whip on 10 State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) for ad-hoc appointments, the National Green Tribunal has ordered the termination of Chairpersons of these regulatory authorities. The concerned states are Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra and Manipur. The order was given last week by the principal bench of the NGT, chaired by Justice Swatanter Kumar. The recent order of June 8, 2017, comes as a follow-up to an NGT judgment given in August 2016. In that judgment, the NGT had issued directions on appointments of Chairmen and Member Secretaries of the SPCBs, emphasising on crucial roles they have in pollution control and abatement. It then specified required qualifications as well as tenure of the authorities. States were required to act on the orders within three months and frame Rules for appointment [See Box: Highlights of the NGT judgment of 2016 on criteria for SPCB chairperson appointment]. Having ...