Since August 2, a Bill figured every day as the last item on the Rajya Sabha list and waited for its turn until it finally dropped off on August 11: the Wildlife (Protection) Act Amendment Bill, drafted by the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoEF) on the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s tiger task force, and meant to set up a constitutional conservation authority and a wildlife crime bureau.

The wait started last session when the MoEF Bill was delayed in anticipation of a related forest bill on tribal rights. Since the tribal bill is not yet ready, the wait continues even though the Tribal Affairs Ministry gave a go-ahead to the MoEF bill and the Cabinet cleared it twice in three months.

‘‘Our objections to the wildlife amendment bill were sorted out and the Cabinet also cleared it. I should not comment on why the Bill is delayed now as it belongs to another ministry,’’ Tribal Affairs secretary Meena Gupta told The Indian Express.

Consider the sequence of events:

• Following a scrutiny by a standing committee, the MoEF bill was first approved by the Cabinet on May 9.

• It was in the Rajya Sabha’s agenda on May 17 but was marked ‘‘later’’, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister PR Dasmunsi, ‘‘to consider the JPC report on the tribal bill’’.

• Tabled on May 23, the JPC report was unacceptable to many and it was sent to a Group of Ministers headed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

... contd.