With the term of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) coming to an end on October 16, the Karnataka government is gearing up to appoint members for the new term. This comes at a time when the last few terms of the SBWL have been marred with controversies due to political appointments of members with no experience in wildlife. Now, activists have demanded the government to only induct members who have experience in wildlife conservation. In January 2020, Dinesh Singhi, owner of Bharat Mines and Minerals, Ballari along with two members with political background were appointed to the SBWL. He was reappointed to the board in October 2020. In the past, the mining baron’s company was implicated by the Karnataka Lokayukta for illegally exporting 2.11 lakh tonne of iron ore from Belekeri though the permit was for export of only 16,368 MT. Alok Vishwanath, son of BJP MLA S R Vishwanath, was also appointed to the board. Chetan B, a BJP party worker in Bengaluru Rural district and Naveen J S, a part of BJP’s social media team, were appointed as members of the board. Girish Patil, a wildlife activist said, “Controversial appointments have been made in the past too. Most of the time it is purely political recommendations and clout rather than actual merit which should be the deciding factor. A son of the then Home Minister was appointed to the board despite glaring objections. This person had tried to misuse his membership to get access to prohibited areas of Bandipur National Park.” Patil added, “Similarly, a tribal leader was appointed as the board member and in 2014, when his house in Kodagu was raided, the forest department had booked a Forest Offence Case against him for possessing teakwood illegally. He not only continued as a member of the board but was caught in another offence in 2016 and a case was booked against him for brewing illicit liquor in the Anechoukur Wildlife Range of the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. Despite this, he not only continued as a member of the board but was reappointed again in 2017.” “One more highly objectionable appointment to the SBWL in 2017 was that of the Managing Director of a mini hydel project who is also an hotelier. In 2012, the Forest department had submitted a detailed report on various violations of forest laws by his company while setting up a mini hydel project in the Sakleshpur forest of Hassan district. Despite all these, the person was appointed as an SBWL member in 2017,” Patil said. He also added, “Very recently, a former member of the SBWL, who claims to be a wildlife expert, was in news for building a house right next to the waterhole in the critical Moyar-Kaniyanapura elephant corridor connecting Bandipur and Mudumalai tiger reserves.” Being a statutory body, the SBWL plays an important role in wildlife clearances. “It cannot be turned into a mere rubber stamp. It requires field expertise, knowledge of wildlife laws, acts, guidelines and policies apart from grass root level experience and utmost commitment and dedication to arrive at scientific and appropriate decisions. Nowadays, most of the appointments are made with justifications for such nominees who call themselves ‘wildlife photographers’ or say ‘wildlife is my hobby’, or claim to be a social worker etc., literally making a mockery of the seriousness of such appointments as mandated under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972,” Patil said.
