National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) with its chairman Mr Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India, cleared 40 crucial projects in just two hours for diversion of forest lands. Members objections like conservation of the wildlife did not even find place in the agenda of discussion, in fact, meeting was conducted in great haste simply to give clearance. Most members got just 24-72 hours to study projects reports running into hundreds of pages.
Issues were related to protected areas and wildlife sanctuaries which constitute just about 4 per cent of the total area in the country.
Prominent proposal that invited concern was the clearance of 7.2871 ha of forest land for construction of Ropeway from Bhavnath Taleti to Ambaji Temple in Girnar Wildlife Sancturay in Gujarat. The ropeway will pass through a known breeding site of the long billed vulture. If contruction is permitted it will lead to the local extinction of the long-billed vulture in North Gujarat. This variety of specie is notified as critically endangered though the vulture is part of species recovery programme of MoEF.
I invite members' discussions on this kind of blunder.
Source: The Pioneer, Thursday, May 19, 2011.
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