The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), chaired by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, has approved 32 defence infrastructure projects involving diversion of land from protected areas and eco-sensitive zones across Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Ladakh, and Sikkim.

The projects include strategic roads, helipads, training areas, ammunition depots, and troop housing, with many located in Ladakh’s ecologically sensitive Karakoram and Changthang sanctuaries. In Arunachal Pradesh, two major BRO projects inside Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary were approved: the 56-km Malinye-Balua-Kapuda road (involving 111.29 ha of forest land and 9.73 ha from the Eco-Sensitive Zone) and the 20.88-km Kapuda-Phuphu road (44.13 ha).

In Gujarat, two proposals in Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary were cleared for a BOP link road and a helipad-cum-training area. In Ladakh, over two dozen proposals were approved, including land for an artillery regiment, missile systems, forward aviation base, and road infrastructure, with strict conditions that the land's legal status remains unchanged. In Sikkim, 0.29 ha from Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary was cleared for a hot mix plant under BRO’s Project Swastik.