Karnataka State Wildlife Board loses its green, gets political appointees

The state government on Friday reconstituted the Karnataka State Wildlife Board, bringing on board sons of politicians, a mining baron and members not heard in the field of wildlife and forest conservation to replace experts who stood against projects like Hubballi-Ankola Railway line.

The notification of the reconstitution that came in the evening on Friday shocked many activists who expressed concern over its advisory capacity when its membership is based more on political affinity and recommendation.

The government has appointed Alok Vishwanath, son of Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath, as an expert member of the Board. The action comes nearly six years after the BJP opposed the appointment of Rana George, son of then home minister K J George, as member of the board.
Dinesh Singhvi, the CEO and managing director of Bharat Mines, has been retained as another expert member while activists like Sanjay Gubbi and Ajai Desai have been dropped from the board.

The Board, chaired by none other than the chief minister and having the forest minister as deputy chairman, has come under criticism over its decisions. In March, within two weeks after rejecting the proposal to build a railway line from Hubballi to Ankola, the Board was reconvened and the project cleared. The High Court of Karnataka stayed the clearance for the project recently after activists questioned the U-turn.

An activist said that almost all the expert members were appointed based on political recommendations or influence. “Rest assured, the Board would not be able to put an effective check considering most of the members are political appointees,” he said.