The Delhi High Court has admitted a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the functioning of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and its standing committee. The petition alleges that the committee, instead of acting as the country’s top statutory body for forest and wildlife conservation, granted clearances to 97% of the development proposals placed before it between 2014 and 2025, effectively reducing the NBWL to a mere rubber stamp.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Union government and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), and directed them to file their response within one month.
The petition was filed by the Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS) along with a group of retired Indian Forest Service (IFS), Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, and conservationists, including former Kerala Chief Wildlife Warden Prakriti Srivastava, M.K. Ranjitsinh, one of the architects of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, former NBWL member Prerna Singh Bindra, former Uttar Pradesh Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Uma Shankar Singh, and legal and policy expert Debadityo Sinha.
The standing committee reportedly cleared 2,008 of the 2,077 industrial, infrastructure and other proposals it considered between 2014 and 2025, while rejecting only 52 proposals. According to data available on the NBWL website, a total of 2,726 proposals came before the committee during the period. Of these, 649 proposals were deferred. During the period, the committee held 55 meetings.
The petitioners argue that the high approval rate demonstrates the statutory body has failed to subject projects to the rigorous scientific and ecological scrutiny mandated under the law.
They also questioned the manner in which the committee conducts its meetings. The petitioners pointed to the committee’s 91st meeting, held in Coimbatore on July 9, where more than 100 proposals were reportedly taken up. The minutes of the meeting have not yet been published. The petition alleged that considering such a large number of proposals in about an hour reduced the exercise to a “mere formality.”
The National Board for Wildlife, constituted under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, is chaired by the Prime Minister. Its standing committee, chaired by the Union Environment Minister, is empowered to give clearance to proposals involving the diversion of land from protected areas for non-forest purposes.
The petition notes that designated protected areas account for only 5.32% of India’s geographical area and therefore require strict scrutiny before any diversion is permitted. However, it alleges that clearances have been routinely granted for roads, bridges, transmission lines, railways and mining projects over the past decade.
Citing data placed before Parliament, the petition said 95,724.99 hectares of forest land were diverted for non-forest purposes between March 2019 and March 2024.
The petitioners have also alleged that the full National Board for Wildlife, which earlier met at least once a year, has met only once since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office. They have sought directions from the High Court to ensure that the board discharges its statutory and constitutional responsibilities to protect the country’s forests, protected areas and wildlife.
Published – July 17, 2026 07:05 pm IST
