Bengaluru: Days after appointing a KSPCB chairperson amid controversies, chief minister Siddaramaiah chaired a ‘special’ meeting Wednesday evening with forest, environment and ecology minister Eshwar Khandre and chairperson PM Narendraswamy. Even as a PIL challenging the appointment is pending before the high court, the sudden meeting called by the CM set off speculation in conservation circles.
Sources in the chief minister’s secretariat said Siddaramaiah chaired the 15-minute meeting at the special request of Narendraswamy. “The meeting was about ensuring proper coordination between the secretariat and the board. Several issues pertaining to administration of the board are new to me as I took over the reins of KSPCB recently. I wanted to understand the issues and listen to both the CM and minister for suggestions and future plans…”
However, sources said the CM discussed the transition of the KSPCB chairperson’s powers that were held by the forest minister all these days following allegations against the previous chairperson. “With multiple irregularities snowballing into a major controversy, the forest minister took over some of the chairperson’s functions. The meeting was convened to hand them over to the new chairperson,” an official said.
Khandre said the meeting was more about departmental issues and coordination with the newly appointed chairperson.
The high court is scheduled to hear the PIL challenging the KSPCB chairperson’s appointment on April 3.
