TGPCB Recruitment Notification Draws Criticism Over Eligibility Criteria

Hyderabad: The Telangana Pollution Control Board’s (TGPCB) recruitment notification for assistant scientist (Analyst Grade II) posts triggered protests from unemployed graduates and student groups, who said several engineering and science backgrounds were unfairly excluded. The notification, issued on April 20 under Notification No. 01/OG/PC/2026, accepted only limited qualifications for the posts.

“Pollution control is not limited to chemistry alone,” said Rajashekar, questioning why graduates from chemical engineering, environmental engineering and civil engineering streams were declared ineligible despite their “relevance to environmental management and pollution control systems.”

Candidates from microbiology, environmental science, biotechnology and biology backgrounds also objected to the notification. “Microbiologists are important in wastewater treatment, while environmental engineers are needed for pollution control plant design and management,” another aspirant, Krishna Kumar, told Deccan Chronicle.

The candidates said that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and pollution control boards in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Gujarat follow broader eligibility criteria for similar environmental posts.

Referring to the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board’s Notification 02/2024, one of the candidates said applicants from multiple science backgrounds were allowed to apply there along with chemistry graduates.

“How can environmental work be handled by giving importance only to chemistry candidates,” Rajashekar asked.

The candidates appealed to the state government and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to revise the notification and include all relevant engineering and science streams. They also warned that they were prepared to take legal action if the notification was not amended.