Utility projects in national parks, wildlife sanctuaries need wildlife panel approval: SC-NBWL
Standing Committee clarifies roads inside protected areas cannot be treated as having ‘deemed’ Right of Way; widening or new construction will require clearance
The wildlife panel of the Environment Ministry has clarified that roads passing through national parks and wildlife sanctuaries cannot automatically be considered to have a “deemed” Right of Way (RoW) merely because they are not mentioned in forest or protected area notifications.
A RoW in a forest refers to a legal right to pass through a specific route within the forest area.
The clarification was issued by the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) during its recent meeting after the Tamil Nadu Forest Department sought clarity from the ministry on whether roads constructed before the enactment of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and not officially recognised as RoW, could still be treated as legally valid roads. The state had sought to know whether approvals for utility projects such as laying pipelines and electricity lines on such roads could be granted at the state level instead of requiring approval from the SC-NBWL.
The SC-NBWL noted that the amended Forest (Conservation) Act, 2023, already permits the laying of underground drinking water pipelines, optical fibre cables, telephone and electricity lines, CNG/PNG pipelines, slurry pipelines and petroleum pipelines within existing RoW approved for non-forest use. However, if such roads pass through a National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary or Tiger Reserve, approval from the Standing Committee remains mandatory for construction of utility projects.
The committee also recalled that powers for approving drinking water pipelines, slurry pipelines, optical fibre cables and power lines up to 11 kV along existing roads in protected areas had earlier been delegated to State Boards for Wildlife.
Such approvals can be granted by the Chief Wildlife Warden on the recommendation of the State Board for Wildlife and with the approval of the state or Union Territory government, without referring the matter to the NBWL Standing Committee. This delegation will remain valid until 2027.
The committee further clarified that repair of an existing road without widening does not require SC-NBWL approval. However, any proposal to widen an existing road or construct a new road inside a National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary must continue to be placed before the Standing Committee.
To prevent future disputes, the SC-NBWL has directed all states and Union Territories to identify roads passing through protected areas and formally notify them after obtaining the required approvals.
