Proposals to put national parks to other use rejected

NEW DELHI: The reconstituted National Board of Wildlife's standing committee on Wednesday rejected 13 of the 32 proposals put before it for using national parks and wildlife sanctuaries or areas around them for other projects. The board, headed by PM Manmohan Singh, is the apex body on wildlife issues under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Its standing committee, which includes wildlife experts and naturalists from outside the government, is empowered under the Act to clear all projects that require land within the wildlife parks and around them.

The reconstituted standing committee includes Brijendra Singh, M K Ranjitsingh, Divyabhanush Chavda, A J T Jonsingh and Prerna Bindra besides representatives of Bombay Natural History Society, Satpuda Foundation and Nature Conservation Foundation.