State wildlife board hasn’t met since December 2018

Key development projects, wildlife mitigation measures and crucial decisions on translocation of big cats have been put on hold since the State Board for Wildlife

Key development projects, wildlife mitigation measures and crucial decisions on translocation of big cats have been put on hold since the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) has not met since December 2018. What’s worse is that the wildlife body, chaired by the chief minister, has not been reconstituted since the Uddhav Thackeray government came to power in November 2019.

HT Image

The details were revealed after the state chief wildlife warden recently wrote to the Maharashtra government about the defunct SBWL requesting for an immediate reconstitution of the board. “Unless it is reconstituted, only official members will remain part of the board, and the board cannot function if non-official or non-government members are not present,” said Nitin Kakodkar, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), Maharashtra.

“A communication has been sent to the state about this. SBWL does not only issue clearances for projects but it is also the recommending body for notification of new protected areas, decisions on major research projects in wildlife zones, and is crucial in allowing translocation of big cats.”

When major linear infrastructure or irrigation project proposals are placed before SBWL, the body orders site inspection first. The inspection report is then tabled before SBWL, following which the said proposals can be recommended and sent to the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) under the Union environment ministry, said another SBWL member.

Final recommendations on projects including the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet train, wildlife mitigation measures for Mumbai-Nagpur expressway (Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg), 126-km Virar-Alibag multi-modal corridor, Railways’ dedicated Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor, Goregaon-Mulund tunnel passing through boundaries of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, and two interstate irrigation projects between Maharashtra and Telangana — Pranahita Chevella Project and Chanaka-Korata Project, are pending, said Kishor Rithe, former SBWL member who was present during the last meeting on December 5, 2018.

“SBWL is an important board for deciding policies regarding wildlife conservation and management. It also deals with several infrastructure projects that are likely to have negative impact on protected areas. So both the issues wildlife management and infrastructure projects get stuck if SBWL does not function. I hope the state will constitute the same soon,” said Rithe.

Former member Anish Andheria said SBWL should meet at least once every six months. “There are many issues ranging from human-animal conflict, biodiversity protection and systematic reviews of conservation decision. Considering such problems are on the rise, SBWL is an integral body with powers to address these concerns. We request the state to expedite to take this up at the earliest,” he said.

After repeated attempts to reach additional chief secretary (revenue and forests) Manu Kumar Srivastava, he did not comment.

However, a senior state government official, requesting anonymity, said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has stalled the agenda of a number of subjects, and SBWL is one of them. Official members are all handling pandemic related problems. However, the final decision on this will be taken by the chief minister soon.”

Meanwhile, various bodies of the Union environment ministry, including the standing committee of NBWL, have been meeting through video conferencing and taking calls on projects. During the first week of April, NBWL issued the final clearance for the ₹55,335-crore Mumbai-Nagpur super highway. “Overall, bodies that are supposed to ensure the protection of wildlife have made a mockery of their responsibilities,” said environmentalist Stalin D.