Tamil Nadu is the only State in the country which is yet to have its State Board For Wildlife (SBWl). This came up for consideration during the recent Standing Committee (SC) meeting of National Board For Wildlife (NBWl). The members refused to consider various proposals submitted by the State as these were without the mandatory approval of the SBWl.
According to Section-6 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 (amended in 2006), every State Government has to constitute a State Board for Wildlife under the chairmanship of its Chief Minister or Administrator in case of Union Territory.
According to the sources in the MoEF, the State had placed three proposals for clearance during the recent meeting. The first sought the diversion of 1.11 hectares of forest land from Pulicat Bird Sanctuary for construction of high-level bridge on Chennai Pulicat Road to Pasiyavaram Road. The second was for diversion of 0.65 ha of forest land from the same sanctuary for the construction of fish landing centre at Periyamongagodu in Thiruvallur District.
The infrastructural projects which falls within 10 km periphery of any PA also need the wildlife clearance from SC-NBWl as per the Supreme Court's order. In this regard, the State had also submitted a third proposal for establishment of 2x500 MW Coal-based Thermal Power Plant at Tuticorin, by M/s Neyveli lignite Corporation limited along with Tamil Nadu Power limited. This proposal could not be discussed by SC-NBWl for similar reasons. This has left the State with no other option but to constitute the board at the earliest.
The sources from MoEf informed that board members including Kishor Rithe, Prerna Singh Bindra, MK Ranjitsinnh, AJT Johnsingh and Madhusudan of Nature Conservation Society of Mysore unanimously voiced strong concerns in this regard. When Rithe was contacted for his comments, he confirmed the decision of the Board saying, “In absence of approval from the State board project the proposals of the State which requires land from the PA could not be discussed by the SC-NBWl during its last meeting.”
Dr AJT Johnsingh, senior wildlife scientist, has regretted that despite the State being bestowed with such rich wildlife resources, the State is not concerned to protect its assets. Setting up the SBWl will sort out many issues of conservation, bringing the State under the glare of international wildlife tourism which can also meliorate the economic condition of the local people.
Earlier, Uttarakhand was the only other State in the country that did not have a State wildlife board. But the State has gone ahead to constitute its board last year.
The infrastructural projects which falls within 10 km perifery of any PA also need the wildlife clearance from SC-NBWl as per the Supreme Court's order.