Wildlife Board will now take 1st call on clearance to projects in protected area: MoEFCC

In a shift from a decision in March, to consider projects requiring a wildlife nod only after the project has received a forest clearance, the Union ministry of environment , forests and climate change (MoEFCC) has issued a new sequence of priority: a nod from the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) is a pre-requisite for considering projects in protected areas further for a forest clearance.

To be sure, all project proponents can apply for all environmental clearances, including forest and wildlife simultaneously, on Union environment ministry’s Parivesh 2.0 website. Parivesh 2.0 is also integrated with the National Single Window System (NSWS) through which investors can apply for all relevant approvals.

The sequence of priority is only for decision making by officials on a particular project. The updated guideline was issued earlier this month. SC-NBWL is headed by the union environment minister, Bhupender Yadav.

“The proposals, involving entire forest land located in one or more Protected Areas, would be considered for grant of ‘in-principle’ approval under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, only after obtaining the recommendation of the SC-NBWL, permitting use of forest land for non-forestry purpose, has been obtained,” the new sequence sent to state governments says.

However, for projects located both within and outside a protected area, an “in-principle” stage 1 forest clearance can be granted for the portion of land outside the protected area, but the stage II or final clearance in such proposals will be given only after a nod from SC-NBWL, according to the guidelines. “Further, no working permission after stage 1 will be admissible in such cases to avoid fait-accompli situation,” they add.

Proposals located in the eco-sensitive zone of a protected area requiring both wildlife and forest clearances will be processed simultaneously.

HT reported on March 22 that SC-NBWL had decided that it will consider proposals for wildlife clearance for projects only after they have received forest approvals, a new protocol that officials said was aimed at avoiding conflicting decisions and to enable tighter scrutiny of projects in eco-sensitive zones. The latest decision was possibly taken to prioritise careful decision making on diverting forests from protected areas, consultants said.

“All environmental permissions are needed independently and they can be applied for simultaneously, hence they are not interdependent. The question is what should be considered first keeping in view where the proposal falls, and if a proposal falls in a protected area, SC-NBWL nod looks more important than forest clearance,” said an environmental consultant who helps projects with environmental clearances.

“Parivesh 2.0 takes shorter time and is more project friendly because all clearances can be applied for simultaneously. But we are aware that there is a sequential nature for prioritising. For example, when we apply for environmental clearance, we are asked at what stage our forest clearance is. Forest clearance takes the longest because it has two stages, it involves tree enumeration, study of the area etc,” said another consultant.

“I am not sure why they are allowing stage 1 forest clearance for projects involving both protected area and non-protected area. This is because the impacts on wildlife both outside and inside protected areas will be similar and both areas need to be prioritised” she added.

Out of 1888 wildlife clearance proposals since March 30, 2023, 91 have been disposed of. Of those 91, 19 proposals have been rejected according to the Parivesh 2.0 dashboard. Around 1046 wildlife clearances are under consideration of state authorities and rest are pending at various levels.

Since June 28, 2022, 3770 projects have received “in-principle” forest clearance and 997 have got final forest clearance.

MoEFCC’s guidelines on van samrakshan evam samvardhan adhiniyam 1980 issued last year also state that the Central Government shall refer proposals in protected areas, complete in all respects, along with site inspection reports, wherever necessary, to the Advisory Committee or Regional Empowered Committee, as the case may be, only after use of such forest land for non-forestry purpose has been recommended by SC-NBWL.

“Almost all decisions of the Standing Committee to clear projects are not in compliance with Section 29 and Section 35(6) of Wildlife Protection Act which specifies that there shall be no destruction unless it is for the improvement and better management of wildlife. The grant of “in-principle” approval under the Adhiniyam for projects within and outside protected areas under the new guidelines issued, is a clear green flag for projects and thus renders the recommendation of the SC-NBWL a mere formality,” said Praveen Bhargav, Praveen Bhargav, Trustee – Wildlife First, Former Member – National Board for Wildlife adding that “NBWL has shockingly not convened since 2014.” Only its standing committee has met.

“Once clearance from the Wildlife Board is granted, it might be used by project proponents to persuade the Forest Advisory Committee to also grant permissions, as another authority under the same Ministry has approved the project. While streamlining legal procedures and enforcement is beneficial, it is also the duty of the MoEFCC to ensure that the decision-making of both authorities remains independent,” said Debadityo Sinha, Lead- Climate & Ecosystems, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.