‘Withdraw green nod given during lockdown’

Conservationists have expressed their concerns about issuance of environmental clearances for large projects in forests and ecologically fragile regions, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Citing that the environment ministry is responsible for upholding forest, wildlife and environment protection, 291 conservation scientists, academics from premier wildlife research institutes, wildlife biologists, 12 former members of the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), former affiliates of the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), and academics from several universities around the world , and non-profit bodies among others, wrote a letter to

Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday.

The letter criticised the approvals for infrastructure, industrial and mining projects in critical wildlife habitats during lockdown and opposed the idea of evaluation of environmental impact of projects through videoconferencing as opposed to proper site inspections.

The conservationists called for the withdrawal of clearances issued by expert panels under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MOEFCC) during the lockdown as well as temporary suspension of all decisions taken via videoconferencing until pandemic-related travel restrictions are lifted.

“The environment ministry has bulldozed major forest clearances during lockdown even as the pandemic is a glaring reminder of the consequences of toying with nature,” said Asad Rahmani, former director, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a signatory. Former NBWL member Kishore Rithe said, “NBWL needs to check the authenticity of information provided by project proponents which includes status of the forest land, notifications, maps, and orders passed by the courts. Lockdown does not allow fair screening of 40% of major proposals that need site inspection.”

On April 7 during the 57th meeting of NBWL’S Standing Committee, 31 proposals affecting 15 tiger reserves, sanctuaries, buffer zones and wildlife corridors were considered and 16 linear infrastructure projects were issued clearances. Javadekar, who had chaired the meeting, had issued approvals for projects from 11 different states.

Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo declined to comment on the letter. However, a senior MOEFCC official said, “Every project undergoes careful scrutiny before issuance of clearances. We must also consider the importance of economic growth during the Covid-19 crisis.”

CONSERVATIONISTS OPPOSED EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF PROJECTS VIA VIDEO-CONFERENCING AS OPPOSED TO PROPER SITE INSPECTIONS