From June onward, the MoEF&CC has increased the frequency of NBWL meetings to reduce delay in project clearance. Since June, NBWL has met once every month as opposed to meeting once in every two to three months.
The Environment Ministry wants states to fast track appraisal of development projects in and around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) Dr Harsh Vardhan has written to all Chief Ministers, asking them to hold meetings of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) more frequently. In the institutional setup of wildlife conservation, the SBWL's appraises projects around protected areas, and recommends them to the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) for a final call. SBWLs also deliberate on important wildlife conservation issues.
From June onward, the MoEF&CC has increased the frequency of NBWL meetings to reduce delay in project clearance. Since June, NBWL has met once every month as opposed to meeting once in every two to three months.
The mnister added, "I held review meetings with officials from our ministry and thought that states must be taken on board to expedite work. If the NBWL is meeting each month and the states are meeting once every five to six months, it will certainly lead to delays. Hence, we have requested states to expedite SBWL matters, so that we can fast track our recommendation." Ministry officials said some states have been laggards resulting in pendency of project appraisals.
The NBWL is the country's apex body that deliberates on wildlife related issues, as mandated by the Wildlife Protection Act. Under the NDA government, MoEF has faced severe criticism for rendering the NBWL toothless by diluting the composition of its standing committee. During Prakash Javadekar's tenure, the NBWL standing committee was reconstituted without mandatory quota of non-governmental members and had faced a restraining order from Supreme Court. Currently, it has only three non-governmental expert members as opposed to ten independent members.
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 "Dr Harsh Vardhan")
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