TNN | Jan 28, 2019, 09:44 IST
NEW DELHI: The Madhya Pradesh government has sought Centre's help in getting Asiatic lions from Gujarat's
Gir which has been delayed by over five years despite a Supreme Court
order, according to official documents. In a letter to the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, it said the state forest
department and Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) feel
that the process of shifting of the lions can be started immediately.
Hence,
it is requested to issue necessary direction for the shifting of lions
from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh, the letter said. A copy of the letter
was received in response to an RTI query filed by wildlife activist Ajay
Dubey. The Gujarat government, however, has maintained that it would
wait for completion of studies as per the relocation guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) before releasing the lions, according to the communique.
The Supreme Court had in April 2013
directed shifting of some lions from Gir to Madhya Pradesh by October of
that year, saying the species "should have a second home to save it
from extinction, due to catastrophes like epidemic, large forest fire,
etc". Gujarat has been opposing Madhya Pradesh's request of seeking
lions from it.
The Madhya Pradesh government had chosen Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Sheopur district of Gwalior division
as a second home for over 500 Asiatic lions. But not a single lion has
been shifted so far. According to other documents accessed by Dubey
through RTI, about Rs 14.84 crore has been spent by the Madhya Pradesh
government in translocation of 1,543 families from 24 villages of the
area to pave way for lions entry into the sanctuary.
"The central government must issue a
direction to ensure that lions from Gir are shifted to MP at the
earliest," Dubey said. The matter of shifting of lions had cropped up in
a meeting, which was attended by representatives of Gujarat and MP
governments besides a renowned wildlife scientist, in September last
year. In the meeting, the scientist had said Palpur-Kuno is ready to
accommodate 40 lions from Gujarat. PTI
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/mp-seeks-centres-help-to-get-lions-from-gujarat/articleshow/67718691.cms
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