The appointment of senior IAS officer Aniruddhe Mukherjee (IAS:1993:MP) as Chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) has ignited a controversy, with environmental activist Ajay Dubey questioning its legal basis.
The government maintains that Mukherjee’s assumption of charge was based on the November 2022 notification, which nominates the Environment Department’s Principal Secretary as Chairman of the MPPCB.
Dubey has questioned Mukherjee’s assumption of charge as board chairman after taking over the Environment Department on July 6, arguing that a separate statutory appointment order or Gazette notification was required.
Dubey has now sought a review of Mukherjee’s appointment and a Lokayukta inquiry into decisions taken during his tenure. Dubey raised the issue through a representation sent to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Union Environment Minister, and senior govt officials of the state and the Centre on November 4.
According to him, an order issued by the General Administration Department on June 17, 2026, assigned Mukherjee an additional charge of the Environment Department as Additional Chief Secretary but did not explicitly appoint him Chairman of the MPPCB.
The state govt maintains that since Mukherjee was assigned additional charge of the Environment Department, his assumption of the board chairmanship was covered by the existing notification and did not require a separate appointment order.
Dubey disputes this interpretation. According to him, the appointment of a pollution control board chairman must follow the prescribed search-cum-selection process and be formalised through a Gazette notification. He maintains that no such notification was issued in Mukherjee’s case.
The activist has additionally sought scrutiny of administrative decisions taken during Mukherjee’s tenure.
Dubey also claims that a proposal seeking the chief minister’s approval for Mukherjee’s appointment to the post was rejected on July 6, questioning the procedure followed.
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