National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)

The basics, its origin, and who sits on it

• The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) is a statutory body. It was set up under Section 5A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• A 2002 amendment created it. It became statutory in 2003. It replaced the Indian Board for Wildlife (IBWL), set up in 1952.
• The NBWL has 47 members. The Prime Minister chairs it. The Union Environment Minister is Vice-Chairperson.
• Its Standing Committee does most of the day-to-day work. It has up to 10 members. The Environment Minister chairs it.

Its veto power, and how it decides

• No project can alter a protected area’s boundaries or divert wildlife habitat without NBWL or Standing Committee clearance. This includes de-notifying a Tiger Reserve.
• The Standing Committee reviews each proposal for its ecological impact and for the adequacy of its mitigation measures. Only then does it grant wildlife clearance.

What gets reviewed, and two different bodies

• Roads, bridges, defence infrastructure, power transmission lines, mining, and renewable energy projects need clearance. This applies whenever they fall in or near protected areas.
• The Standing Committee also reviews species conservation strategies. Recent meetings covered the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, the Great Indian Bustard, and the Pygmy Hog.
• The full NBWL, chaired by the Prime Minister, meets far less often than its Standing Committee. Most routine business runs through the Standing Committee.
• For India’s wider conservation record, see Wildlife in India. For tiger-specific governance, see Project Tiger and NTCA.

From advice to veto, and NBWL vs. NTCA

• For its first 30 years, the board was only advisory. It had no legal power to block a project. The 2003 statutory upgrade gave it a real clearance gate.
• NBWL clears development projects across all protected areas and wildlife habitats. The NTCA governs tiger reserves specifically. One project can need sign-off from both.
• Over 100 proposals in one meeting shows the scale of the trade-off. National infrastructure needs are weighed case by case against habitat loss.

The 91st Standing Committee meeting (9 July 2026)

• The Standing Committee held its 91st Meeting at Coimbatore on 9 July 2026. Bhupender Yadav chaired it. It considered over 100 development proposals. (Source: PIB)
• The proposals covered roads and bridges, defence infrastructure, drinking water supply, communication towers, power lines, pipelines, mining, and renewable energy. All needed wildlife clearance.
• The meeting discussed a conservation strategy for the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros, using a Rhino DNA Indexing System. It also discussed a future strategy for the Great Indian Bustard.
• It approved including the Pygmy Hog under the Species Recovery Programme.
• For the rhino’s home, see Kaziranga National Park. For the bustard, see Desert National Park.