Tarun Kumar Pithode takes charge as full-time member-secretary of CAQM

Tarun Kumar Pithode, an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, has assumed the charge of the member-secretary of the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and adjoining areas (CAQM), on Thursday. According to an official statement, he has been appointed for an overall tenure of five years, up to September 8, 2029, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

Pithode succeeded Arvind Kumar Nautiyal, IRSME (1992), in this key position.

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An IAS from Madhya Pradesh Cadre, 2009 batch, Tarun Kumar Pithode has served as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). Before assuming the charge of JS, Pithode served as Director in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

The Commission, which plays a key role when it comes to monitoring the air situation in Delhi-NCR, was set up for the air quality management in the region and adjoining areas. It also has the mandate to establish better coordination, research, identification and resolution of problems surrounding the air quality index and for related matters.

Recently, the CAQM invoked the pollution control measures under its Graded Response Action Plan’s (GRAP)stage I and II in the wake of a spike in the AQI levels in the national capital. It keeps an eye on the air quality in Delhi-NCR and takes steps towards management of the air quality to prevent deterioration of the AQI levels, taking various steps as part of its anti-pollution plan GRAP.