A group of former forest officials, conservationists, and researchers have censured the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and a statutory body under it for approving development projects within protected areas with “scant ecological and scientific evidence” and “no application of mind.” A public interest litigation filed by the group in the Delhi High Court says the Standing Committee under the NBWL approved 97% of projects between 2014 and 2026, indicating a lack of “processual rigour” which led to the diversion of at least 95,724 hectares of forest land. The allegation comes amid a spate of changes made to national environmental norms to favour the “ease of doing business” — a stated goal of the incumbent BJP government. The petitioners include four retired Indian Forest Service officers, led by Prakriti Srivastava as well as eminent conservationists like M.K. Ranjitsinh, who played an instrumental role in drafting the Wildlife Protection Act, India’s primary wildlife protection law. The petition alleges the National Board for Wildlife — chaired by the Prime Minister — and its Standing Committee — chaired by the Union Environment Minister — acted with “total disregard of its (sic) constitutional duties and in violation of the very intent and purpose for which they were statutorily created.” A representative of Bhupender Yadav, Union Environment Minister and chairperson of the NBWL Standing Committee, declined to comment. The National Board for Wildlife was created in 2003 under the Wildlife Protection Act to advise central and state governments on issues pertaining to wildlife. These include…This article was originally published on Mongabay
