Administration reconstitutes wildlife board

The UT Administration has reconstituted the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), a key body responsible for granting wildlife clearance to major projects and setting guidelines for wildlife protection in the Union Territory.

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According to notification issued by Mandeep Singh Brar, Secretary Home-cum-Forest, the Chandigarh Administrator will now serve as the Chairman of the board, while the Chief Secretary has been appointed as the Vice-Chairman.

The newly reconstituted State Board for Wildlife consists of 20 members, including Mayor; councillor, recommended by Municipal Corporation; Secretary, Environment and Forests; Director General of Police (DGP); Chief Conservator of Forests; Managing Director, CITCO; Brigadier-level representative from the Armed Forces; Director, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries; Director-level representative from the Ministry of Environment and Forests; representatives from Wildlife Institute of India, Botanical Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) India; Deputy Conservator of Forests; Vice-Chancellor of Amity University, Prof RK Kohli; retired IFS officer Manmohan Singh Negi; former Director, PAU Zonal Research Station, Dr SS Grewal, and Chief Wildlife Warden, as member secretary.

In addition to the State Board for Wildlife, the administration has also set up the Executive Committee of the State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).

The Chief Conservator of Forests, Chandigarh will serve as the Chairperson of this committee, which includes 12 other members. The committee will be responsible for setting guidelines for CAMPA funds monitoring afforestation efforts, overseeing plantation projects.