These people and bodies are all the more concerned because
of late the government has shown great haste in clearing projects which had
been pending for reasons of their environmental impact. The repeated pronouncements
by certain senior ministers in the NaMo government about greater emphasis on
development and growth than the environment make wildlifers and
conservationists suspicious about the motives of the government of the day. The
air has certainly thickened after partial constitution of the board which,
legal eagles say, is an illegality committed violating the provisions of the
Wildlife Protection Amendment Act, 2002.
The National Board for Wildlife is chaired by
India's Prime Minister. Minister of Environment is its Vice-chairman. Apart
from them some of the prominent members are:
- Three members of Parliament (2 Lok Sabha and 1 Rajya Sabha)
- Member, Planning Commission in‑charge of Forests and Wild Life
- Five persons to represent NGOs to be nominated by the Central Government
- Ten persons to be nominated by the Central Government from amongst eminent conservationists, ecologists and environmentalists
- Secretary Forests and Wild Life ministry
- Chief of the Army Staff
- Secretaries of Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Tribal Welfare
- Director‑Generals of Forests, Tourism, ICFRE
- Directors of Wild Life Institute of India, Zoological Survey of India, Botanical Survey of India, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, National Institute of Oceanography
- One representative each from ten States and Union territories by rotation, to be nominated by the Central Government
- The Director of Wild Life preservation who shall be the Member‑Secretary of the National Board
http://www.moef.nic.in/sites/default/files/MINISTRY%20OF%20LAW%20AND%20JUSTICE.pdf
- Clause (e) of the Wildlife Protection Amendment Act, 2002 states:
“five persons to represent non-governmental organisations
to be nominated by the Central Government”
“ten persons to be nominated by the Central
Government from amongst eminent conservationists, ecologists and
environmentalists”
“one representative each from ten States and
Union territories by rotation, to be nominated by the Central Government”
It is unprecedented that the above clauses have not been fulfilled by
the notification in question. Only two experts have been nominated and no NGO
or its representatives have been nominated on the Board. GEER nominated as an
NGO, in fact is a body under the Forest Department of the Government of Gujarat.
Hence it does not qualify as an NGO.
There are a total of 47 members of the NBWL which generally meets once
in a year. It is the Standing Committee headed by the Minister for Environment
and Forests that decides on most of the cases on day to day basis. Independent
members on the committee take a critical view and provide valuable inputs which
the bureaucrats obviously cannot. The independent views of these members
provide a robust mechanism in clearing projects after proper assessment of the
environmental impact. It must be mentioned here that the recommendations of the
Standing Committee or the Board are not binding on the government but these
certainly help in curbing flagrant violations of inviolate areas, thus enabling
conservation of national parks and reserves.
A number of experts argue that
when important issues like the 10 km buffer zone around national parks and
sanctuaries and more than 200 projects
are pending before the government, constitution of a truncated NBWL certainly
raises eyebrows and creates misgivings.
I know for sure that an online signature campaign in Delhi by several
wildlife enthusiasts is on to put pressure on the Ministry to suitably amend
the notification. Over a hundred individuals and NGOs have already lodged their
concern with the Prime Minister and MoEF. The issue has hitherto escaped the hawkish
eyes of the Opposition or the Opposition is sitting tight waiting for the
government to commit a mistake by taking a wrong decision at the recommendation
of this incomplete Board.
While taking corrective measures, the government should be watchful in
the selection of experts and NGOs. Recent IB report has been an eye opener. The
report can not be rubbished completely.
Like various commissions and regulatory bodies, tenure of members
should be fixed and no one should be allowed to serve for more than three years
at a stretch. WWF and BNHS can be exempted from this tenure condition. It has
been seen that some individuals and NGO have taken advantage of their
connections to be nominated time and again much to the dismay of other eligible
and equally competent individuals and NGOs.
While Chief of Army Staff has been made a member of the Board, it
would be prudent to bring in the Chiefs of the border guarding forces also.
Presence of border troopers along the entire length of our country has provided
deterrence against poachers and illegal wildlife traders. They have in fact
indirectly multiplied the force and efforts on ground. Better synergy between
border guarding forces and forest departments of the state will be a win-win
combination for environment conservation.
This issue is a yet another test for the NaMo government to establish
its credibility.
