Finally, green soldiers find place in wildlife board

Nagpur: The government has finally appointed full quota of NGO representatives and experts on the state board for wildlife (SBWL) headed by chief minister, a year after it was reorganized. A notification appointing five experts was issued on June 7 by the forest ministry. Now the strength of individual experts and NGOs on the SBWL has gone up to mandatory 10.Till now there were only five NGOs and experts.
Those appointed to SBWL include Kishor Rithe, president of Satpuda Foundation, Amravati, Hemendra Kothari, president of Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT), Mumbai, Bandu Dhotre, president of Eco-Pro, Chandrapur, Poonam Dhanwatay, secretary of Tiger Research and Conservation Trust (TRACT), Nagpur, and Shrikant Tekade, Nagpur. Tenure of the restructured SBWL will be three years.
Earlier, when the SBWL appointments were announced on June 3, 2015, the region was represented by only one member in the form of resort owner Dhananjay Bapat. TOI on June 4, had reported how wildlife experts did not find place in the 20-member SBWL. Chief minister’s office (CMO) had promised that quorum will be completed soon but it took a year to appoint the expert members.
In the earlier SBWL there were only two expert members — environmentalist Bittu Sahgal and social worker Prakash Amte, besides three NGOs namely Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
SBWL is the state's highest decision-making body on projects falling within 10-km of sanctuaries and national parks. The appointment of new members has raised questions about intentions of the government. Has the government appointed green warriors like Rithe and Dhotre to quell voice of dissent on burning issues, sources asked.
Rithe said, “I will not compromise on principles and continue to raise my voice if I find something wrong. This was also the case when I was Standing Committee member of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).” Dhotre said, “I’m happy that forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has given me an opportunity to work for issues related to wildlife at state level. I will work for the cause of wildlife.”