• National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has cleared 99.82 % of total projects that came up for scrutiny. Only five projects are rejected since 2014.
• From 2009 to 2013, NBWL cleared appro. 80% of total projects. 
• The environment ministry has delegated all powers of the NBWL to a compliant Standing Committee which regularly meets and clears projects in Protected Areas with little due diligence. 
• These increased clearances are due to streamlined processes.  There are regular meeting of NBWL and filling applications have largely gone online. Problematic projects are now usually dealt with at the level of State and what ultimately comes to NBWL is one that has already passed scrutiny.

About National Board for Wildlife:

• It is a “Statutory Organization” constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Its roles is “advisory” in nature and advises the Central Government on framing policies and measures for conservation of wildlife in the country.
• The National Board for Wildlife is chaired by India’s Prime Minister and its vice chairman is Minister of Environment. Further, the board is body with 47-members including Parliament Members, NGOs, eminent conservationists, ecologists and environmentalists, Government secretaries of various departments, Chief of the Army Staff, Director General of Forests, tourism etc. etc.
• There is a standing committee of the board which approves all the projects falling within protected wildlife areas or within 10 km of them; but notably, law does not specify the formation of the standing committee. The rules under the wildlife law allow the board to take decisions with half the members but are silent about the standing committee.

Functions & Importance

• Primary function of the Board is to promote the conservation and development of wildlife and forests. It has power to review all wildlife-related matters and approve projects in and around national parks and sanctuaries. No alternation of boundaries in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries can be done without approval of the NBWL.
• Some of the major cases pending before the board include the coal blocks in and around central Indian tiger reserves such as Pench and Tadoba, Hydroelectric projects in Northeast India, Highway and road projects through several wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, Iron ore mining in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand in elephant areas.  In all, there are around 200 projects pending for approval for clearance from the Board.