Even though the access to biological resources and benefits sharing (ABS) was notified by the government way back on November 21, 2014, it is yet to be implemented in the country, thanks to the inordinate delay in the appointment of chairman, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA).  

The NBA is an autonomous body formed in 2003 under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, to regulate and advise the government on matters of conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and fair, equitable sharing of benefits.

Further, the ABS - November 21, 2014 notification states that when the biological resources are accessed for commercial utilisation, Ayush manufacturers shall have the option to pay the benefit sharing ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 per cent at the respective graded percentages of the annual gross ex-factory sale of the product which shall be worked out based on the annual gross ex-factory sale minus government taxes.

According to sources, the search-and-selection committee, set up as per DoPT Rules, has of late recommended a panel of names to the Prime Minister's Office for the top post based on the interview held on May 4, 2015.

In a span of 17-months – between October 2013 and March 2015 – the Government of India has twice initiated the process for selecting the chairman of NBA. The first time this exercise went into a spin and the process was abandoned mid-way as there was “conflict of interest” and on PMO’s intervention the approval granted by the minister for environment, forests and climate change (MoEF) for the appointment of the secretary in the same ministry to this important post was withdrawn and it was decided to go through the selection process all over again.

Though 44 candidates were screened by the committee recently, the panel of names recommended, according to informed sources, however, is not based on the eligibility criteria for the post as stipulated as per the provisions of the Biodiversity (BD) Act 2002.

Inquiries have revealed that after the interview stage during the ongoing selection process, a panel of three names has been forwarded to the PMO for final selection. One of those in the panel is a former Secretary in Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and now posted as chief secretary in a state. He is a graduate engineer with a post graduate diploma in management and lacks the mandatory PG qualification.

Section 8.4 (a) of the BD Act, which is the law of the land, makes it mandatory for the government to ensure that the NBA chairman should have both “knowledge and experience in conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and in matters relating to equitable sharing of benefits.” The Act does not allow any relaxation on this count and the MoEF call for applications both in October 2013 and February this year crossed the mandatory line by stating “that it may on its own discretion relax one or more of the aforesaid requirements in case of an applicant of outstanding ability."

It has been given to understand that changes were made in the eligibility criteria to favour retired government officials. The advertisement seeking applications for the post of NBA chairman issued on October 4, 2013, demanded “30 years of experience in dealing with issues of science and social sciences, with at least 5 years of experience of working in the central/state government at senior level including heading government institutions”. The ministry’s 2011 advertisement for the same post asked for 20-25 years of experience.
 
Objections were earlier raised when Union Environment Secretary Dr V Rajagopalan virtually oversaw his own appointment and the search-and-selection committee recommended, without citing any reason, only Dr Rajagopalan’s name for the job. Seven out of 38 applicants were interviewed by the selection panel in April 2013. The MoEF had announced that the post of the Chairperson of the National Biodiversity Authority (Rashtriya Jaiwa Vividhata Pradhikaran) is to be filled upon completion of the tenure of the present incumbent.

For the record, Dr Rajagopalan is an MTech from IIT Madras and a PhD on air pollution modelling from Lucknow University.

Dr Balakrishna Pisupati, the only expert on genetics (plant biotechnology) to have ever been appointed as NBA chairman, resigned in February, 2014. Hem Pande, additional secretary, MoEF, is currently holding temporary charge as NBA chairman.