Of 1,876 proposals reviewed, only 66 were rejected. Experts call it rubber-stamping. The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife meets rarely; yet clears over 100 projects in under 2 hours. No site visits. No deep ecology reviews. Just approvals. The Delhi High Court is now questioning whether this body is truly independent; or just an extension of government will. Conservationists argue: it’s not about rejecting everything; it’s about taking time to assess what’s truly at stake. When 95,000+ hectares of protected forest have been diverted in 5 years, the cost of speed may be irreversible.