Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
House panel suggests changes to wildlife amendment Bill
NEW DELHI: Non-official members should also be part of the state wildlife board committee proposed to assess infrastructure projects in and around protected areas, a parliamentary panel reviewing the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2021, said on Thursday.
The standing committee of the state board for wildlife, if formed, should be represented by several non-official members — at least three wildlife institutions and the director of the Wildlife Institute of India or his/ her nominee, the parliamentary standing committee on science, technology, environment, forests and climate change cautioned in its report.
The House panel headed by senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh submitted a 254-page report on Thursday after reviewing the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill 2021. It highlighted several concerns regarding the legislation and urged the Union environment ministry to consider the recommendations of scientists and conservationists mentioned in the report.
Soon after the introduction of the bill in Parliament in Decemtive ber last year, several wildlife and legal experts criticised some of its clauses, citing loopholes and saying they were counterintui
to the objectives of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
One such clause drawing flak from independent experts was the proposal to set up a standing committee of the state board for wildlife, to be headed by its vicechairperson, a post to be held by the state’s forest minister, and shouldn’t have over 10 members nominated by the panel chief.
The experts claimed such a board would be “packed with official members” and end up being a “rubber stamp for faster clearance of projects”.
Environmental lawyers had pointed out concerns regarding a provision for trade in live elephants. The Wildlife Act prohibits trade in wild animals, including captive and wild elephants. Under sections 40 and 43 of the law, transfer, acquiring and receiving of captive elephant is permissible only with the nod of the chief wildlife warden.
The Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, a non-profit, said the bill introduces a Subsection (4) to Section 43 that takes away the protection from trade in them. The House panel report, seen by HT, has recommended the deletion of the clause and provide an explanation of provisions for transport of captive elephants.