'Poaching threat to Gujarat lions in Madhya Pradesh'

Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN Aug 12, 2012, 12.20AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Gujarat government has reiterated it stand that some of Gir's lions can't be shifted to Madhya Pradesh because of rampant poaching in the neighbouring state. In the written submissions to the Supreme Court on Thursday after the final arguments were completed, the Modi government has said Madhya Pradesh has been unable to protect the tigers from poaching in Kanha and asked if it can be trusted with the safety of Gujarat's pride.
At the root of the fraternal fight between two BJP-ruled states is wildlife experts' concern that the concentration of the Asiatic lions in Gir at one site makes them vulnerable to extinction by epidemic of the kind that has been the cause of decimation of several other species. The Shivraj Singh Chauhan government reacted to the fear by offering to take the lions to MP's Kuno National Park that had been prepared to host tigers.
While the offer may have been motivated simply by the desire to boost MP's tourism potential, the Gujarat government sees it as a potential threat to its unique branding around the world as the sole sanctuary of the Asiatic lions in wild.

"At the time when Madhya Pradesh was filing affidavits in this court supporting direction for translocation, the tiger population in Madhya Pradesh was being decimated. Tigers were being poached regularly and the Madhya Pradesh forest officers and wild life staff were grossly negligent in protecting tigers," the Gujarat government has told the Supreme Court which is seized of a petition seeking safety of lions.
In an affidavit filed by Modi government's counsel, Hemantika Wahi, Gujarat has cited the finding of a special investigation team (SIT) report in 2009 to say "MP has no institutional capacity to protect existing tiger population which was being poached at several locations."
"The tiger population at Panna in Madhya Pradesh was around 25 in 2002. In seven years, the tiger population at Panna in April 2009 was 'zero'," the Gujarat government said as it sought to impress upon the Supreme Court that safety of the species must be considered paramount before implementing translocation project.
In Gujarat, the lions have been thriving - their population has risen from 180 in 1974 to 411 in 2010. The area of Gir's protected habitat has also expanded from 1,412 square km in 1974 to 10,500 square kilometers in 2010, argued the Gujarat government.
While "deplorable track record of MP" in protecting tigers as its chief objection, the Narendra Modi government has objected to MP's proposal by arguing that comprehensive scientific studies have not been carried on to assess whether Kuno can be the alternative location. It has called for a detailed assessment with the regard to availability of prey, suitability of conditions and other scientific and technical aspects ought to be carried out before the final call is taken.
It said the SIT report of 2009 recorded a finding that the maximum decline in the tiger population occurred between 2003 and 2005 which continued till 2008 and quoted section 12 of the Wild Life Act, which mandated that translocation may be done to "an alternative suitable habitat".
The Gujarat government said, "The notion of suitable habitat in the context of big cats includes a safe habitat where big cats are not poached. Given the recent record of the state of Madhya Pradesh were poaching has been rampant, no mandatory directions for translocation ought to be passed until a satisfactory track record over a number of years is proved by Madhya Pradesh."
"The facts on record establish the deplorable track record of Madhya Pradesh and it is too early to gauge whether there has been a systemic improvement and institutional change that would ensure the protection of big cats in Madhya Pradesh," the Modi government said.

Gujarat Babudom resuffle: Six senior IAS officers transferred.

Published: Friday, Aug 10, 2012, 16:05 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Gandhinagar | Agency: DNA
In a late evening development, state government transferred six senior IAS officials on Thursday. The move had become inevitable after some key posts fell vacant due to retirement of senior officials.
Varesh Sinha, additional chief secretary (ACS) who was heading home department has been transferred to finance department as additional chief secretary. The post was laying vacant after the retirement of MM Shrivastav, ACS on July 31.Sinha has been replaced in the home department by SK Nanda, principal secretary of state environment and forest department. Now, Nanda will be heading state home department as principal secretary.
State environment and forest department has got new man in the form of HK Dash, who was handling Narmada, water supply, and Kalpasar department as principal secretary. Rajiv Kumar Gupta, managing director of Gujarat State Civil Supplies Corporation will replace Dash.
K Srinivas, joint managing director of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) has been transferred as secretary, General Administration Department (personnel).
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gujarat-babudom-resuffle-six-senior-ias-officers-transferred_1726380

Leopard ‘killed’ in battle with villagers.

Express news service Posted: Aug 15, 2012 at 0425 hrs IST

Ahmedabad A young leopard was found dead on Tuesday near a village in Amreli district, reportedly stoned to death by irate villagers after the wild animal attacked three men who were out answering nature’s call in a nearby field.
Two of the men, who are siblings, were seriously injured and admitted to a government health facility at Khambha. The third man also reportedly broke an arm while running away when the animal attacked.
“I went to the site and saw the leopard’s body. It seems less than a year old and is no bigger than a dog. Apart from some blood oozing from the mouth, there were no signs of external wounds. A post mortem will be conducted,” said Anshuman Sharma, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Gir (East).
He said villagers, including the sarpanch of Daldi village of Khambha taluka, about 6 to 7 km from where the animal’s corpse was found, had so far given little information about the incident.
Sharma said he would speak to the injured men in the hospital to piece together what exactly happened.
The three injured have been identified as Haji Abraham Naya (40), his younger brother Mohammad Abraham Naya (35) and another villager, Karu Bachu Sindhi (45). Haji was allegedly attacked first and his brother was subsequently injured by the leopard when he tried to save him. Sindhi ran for life, fell and broke his arm.
Villagers had earlier reportedly filed a complaint with the forest department about leopards in the area ravaging their livestock, but Sharma said he was unaware of it.

At least 10 people have reportedly been killed in attacks by leopards in Amreli district and neighbouring Junagadh this year.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/leopard-killed-in-battle-with-villagers/988642/

Return of the Maldharis: Did forest dept know the secret?

Published: Friday, Aug 3, 2012, 16:34 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
Did the forest department purposely turn a blind eye to the fact that Maldharis relocated from the Gir Sanctuary had been selling their land and returning to the sanctuary? Prima facie it seems it was indeed the case. For, there were several indications regarding the same, with even the CAG too pointing out irregularities in the matter.
A 2010 CAG report highlighted that between 1972 and 1978, 588 families were shifted out of the Gir protected area. The report stated that each relocated family was given eight acres of cultivable and grazing land, 600 sq meters of residential plot and Rs6,050. The report said that a total of 257 families were not shifted.
Of the 588 families that were relocated, 87 returned to the forests and began residing there with the authorization in the protected area, the report further said. According to the CAG report, adequate steps to prevent relocated Maldhari families from returning to the protected area were not taken.
“Consequently, the expenditure that was incurred on their earlier relocation towards farm lands, housing plots and cash, proved to be infructuous,” the report had then commented. A forest official, in know of the situation said that several of the Maldhari families that were relocated had indeed returned to the forest. “It is a known fact among the forest department and Gir officials that some of the relocated Maldharis had returned to the sanctuary and were living there,” said the official.
With the Maldharis returning, shouldn’t the officials have asked what happened to the land given to them? Apparently nobody bothered to look into the question with the result that several the community continued to sell their land to third parties. Even the CAG report apparently did not act as a wake up call. The matter only came to light after one Anil Chudasama filed a petition in the HC challenging the forest departments’ decision not to let him farm on a piece of land he bought from a Maldhari.
Chudasama had bought the land near Mendarada taluka from a Maldhari who was given the plot by government in 1982. In his affidavit he had alleged that the forest dept officials from time to time fined the Maldharis who had returned to Gir but did not bother to prosecute them. The Gir and its surrounding areas, is home to 411 lions as per the last census.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_return-of-the-maldharis-did-forest-dept-know-the-secret_1723541

Courting the king.

Aug 7, 2012 :

Conservationists have hailed the Supreme Court’s recent judgement favouring translocation of native Asiatic lions from Gujarat to Rajasthan. Because the lion population at Gir is more than the sanctuary’s carrying capacity, it strays out in search of its own home range and creates trouble in other areas. The lion population is also vulnerable due to its homogenous gene pool, observes Arefa Tehsin
The Gir Wildlife Sanctuary is the last remaining home of the Asiatic lion and has throngs of tourists, all trying to catching a glimpse of the lion. Till 1850, the Asiatic lion population extended from Iran till the Indian subcontinent.

The lion found a place in mythology, historic emblems and tales from Iranian to Indian civilisations and kingdoms, from ancient times. By the beginning of the 20th century, the lion had already vanished from many parts of India. The last lion reported from Iran was in 1930.

The Asiatic lion was wiped away from its entire range, except the Junagarh forests of Gujarat. The far-sightedness of the Junagarh Nawab saved them from extinction. He requested the British Governor General to ban the hunting of lions quoting their numbers much less than actual figures. British officers were prohibited from hunting lions.

Much has changed since then and much remains the same – among them is Sinh Sadan. Made into a forest rest house, Sinh Sadan, with its beautiful cottages and gardens, celebrates its centenary this year. Tourists and guides line up early each morning in the guest house compound, which has a small but good information centre.

A limited number of safari permits are given for eight routes inside the sanctuary. Trackers, well-versed with the forest, start before the advent of tourists to locate the movement of lions. They inform guides about the presence of lions on different routes and early tourists are generally graced by a retreating lion or pride. The ones who come later can only catch the lions resting during the day.

Of the many tribal villages inside the forest, there is one that belongs to Africans who were brought here by the Nawab of Junagarh. Don’t be surprised if you find an African in a tracker’s uniform, speaking in Gujarati and walking behind a lion named Maulana.
The sanctuary management, especially the involvement of tribals based inside the forest, is commendable.

The well-protected and increasing number of lions (presently 411, which is more than its carrying capacity) wander outside the sanctuary in search of their own home ranges and create trouble in other areas.

If a natural disaster or an epidemic like canine distemper strikes, there is little hope for these last remaining Asiatic kings. The Wildlife Institute of India has found that the lion population of Gir, which has risen from a very small base, is additionally vulnerable due to its homogenous gene pool.

Though the efforts of the Gujarat government are admired and the point well-understood that the lion is their USP, for long-time conservation, it is required to build alternative homes for the lion.

The Bio-diversity Conservation Trust of India has fought a gruelling battle with the Gujarat government in this connection. Conservationists across India have hailed the Supreme Court’s recent judgement to put on hold the African Cheetah re-introduction programme in Kuno, Madhya Pradesh, in favour of translocating native Asiatic lions from Gujarat.

Moving to Kumbhalgarh

The judgement has given hope to wildlife conservator Raza H Tehsin’s proposal to the government of Rajasthan in April 2009 to introduce the Asiatic lion in Kumbhalgarh, a historical site which was recently declared National Park.

The Kumbhalgarh fort was built in the 15th century by Maharana Kumbha. The strong high wall of the fort is 36-km long, the second largest in the world after the Great Wall of China.

The wide enclosure of Kumbhalgarh Fort is lying vacant, except for the entrance, which has the chief structures of archaeological value – the fort and the main temple.
The rest of it is only a high parapet wall with a small human habitation, which will need to be relocated since it has been declared a national park.

The old wall can be repaired and a small wall can be constructed a few 100 meters from the entrance to separate the archaeological monuments from the enclosure. Once this is done there will be a 12-sq-km-wide enclosed area where the Asiatic lion can be preserved in semi-wild conditions. The wall will ensure that it is not able to leave the protected area.

Water holes can be made within this enclosure and ungulates already found in the national park released here. Once they are settled and their population increases, a pride of lions can be introduced. To ensure proper food to the lions, some buffaloes can also be released.

Boost for tourism

Lion safaris organised there will make the project self-sustaining and provide employment opportunities to the locals. Kumbhalgarh is located near Udaipur, the ‘City of Lakes’ and many tourists visit the fort. The lion safari will provide an additional attraction, thereby increasing tourists and revenues.

Once the Forest Department repairs and maintains the wall, it will lead to greater care of the archaeological site, which has suffered due to Archaeological Survey of India’s lack of resources. The enclosure will ensure less human interference and reduce thefts of idols from the temples.

After testing it for some time, the Asiatic lion can be introduced in wild conditions inside the sanctuary, where it will not have competition with the tiger for food, like the forests of Madhya Pradesh.

The fort is located at a height of 3,500 feet but lions are found in Africa at 5,000 feet and above as well. Reintroducing lions in Kuno is an excellent initiative.

But our knowledge of wild Asiatic lion is limited. Lions were released before in the forest of the then Central Province and United Province (now Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). Most of them didn’t survive, and those who did, became man-eaters and had to be killed. 

It is evident that the high walls of Kumbhalgarh and the wide enclosed area are safe, cost-effective and an entirely workable proposition for the conservation of the Asiatic lion.
Learning lessons from history and making use of the initiative of BCTI, we should develop more homes for the last remaining gene pool of this majestic being. Today, the king of the forest sadly has to depend on mankind, the un-benevolent dictators of the planet, for its survival.

Evict illegal owners of Gir land: HC.

Source: DNA   |   Last Updated Aug 03, 2012, 06:03AM IST

Ahmedabad: There seems to be a big gap between the reality and the claims of the state government regarding efforts made for conservation of Asiatic Lions in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding areas.

Last week, the Gujarat high court ordered the forest department to take back from owners other than Maldharis, those plots in Gir Sanctuary which were originally allotted to Maldharis for relocation.

This landmark order by Justice PB Majmudar and Justice Mohinder Pal clearly exposes an unholy nexus between influential people formed to corner vital tracts of forest land comprising core lion habitat, for non-forest purpose.

The nexus involves officials of the revenue department, forest department and scores of influential people of the state including IAS and IPS officers, MPs, MLAs and senior lawyers, who had purchased the land from Maldharis over the years.

Agencies of the state government have aided in the transfer of this land. Besides exposing greed, it also lays bare a serious turf war between the revenue and the forest departments over the ownership of land surrounding the Gir Sanctuary with both staking claim to it.

The background of the case is this. In 1982, in a bid to relocate Maldharis (cattle-rearers) away from their traditional habitat in the forests called ‘ness’, the state government had allotted 588 plots to them. The allocation was done on the condition that they will not sell the land.

However, over time, 292 Maldharis did sell this land to private entities on payment of premium and deletion, by the Collector’s office, of the condition that the land should not be transferred. This would allow cultivation and construction, among other activities. One Anil Chudasama bought a plot in Najapur (Chatariya) village along with 11 others in the area. He was actually the third purchaser of the plot but was prevented from undertaking agricultural activity on his plot by the forest department which claimed that it was reserve forest area.

Chudasama moved the high court against the forest department’s objection, saying that it was revenue land as its ownership was transferred by the Collectorate at that time. In a petition filed in 2009, he revealed that several other such plots allotted by the forest department to Maldharis had been sold off to the rich and mighty.

Chudasama further revealed that non-forest activities were going on in full steam on these plots but he was the only one being discriminated against. This drew the high court’s attention to the big scam in land at the Asiatic lion’s abode. Justice MR Shah appointed advocate Amit Panchal as the amicus curiae in the case and asked him to visit the region and give a report on the situation.

In his report, the amicus curiae stated that out of the 11 plots in Najapur village, 9 plots had been sold off by the Maldharis who had returned to the sanctuary. The court finally ordered that the forest department should take possession of the said plots “immediately”, and said that the land belongs to the forest department and all non-forest activity should be stopped at the earliest. Chudasama’s plot is not covered by this order for now.

400 water points in Gir to be filled up for animals.

STAFF WRITER 10:45 HRS IST

Vadodara, Aug 1 (PTI) In the wake of delayed monsoon in Saurashtra region, the Gujarat government has made special arrangements to fill water at more than 400 points in Gir National Park, housing various wild animals including Asiatic lions, to quench their thirst.

Sudeep Kumar Nanda, Principal Secretary (Forest and Environment) said that due to deficient rainfall this year depleting water levels in rivers, ponds, wells and kundis which serve Gir, have created big problems for animals at the Sanctuary.

Wildlife NGOs resume work, but await showdown with forest dept on Aug 1.

Ramaninder K Bhatia, TNN | Jul 31, 2012, 11.25AM IST
VADODARA: Scanty rains in the country may spell drought, but for Vadodara residents, less rains also mean less encounters with the wildlife, especially the reptiles, who come out in droves when it rains.
This is also proving to be blessings of sorts for both the administration as well as the residents, since the wildlife NGOs in the city are in confrontation with the forest and wildlife department over certain new conditions imposed by the department. The NGOs, who had gone on strike over the new rules, have resumed work since last week, but it's still an uneasy truce. The matter would come up for discussion on August 1 when senior department officials from Gandhinagar arrive here for a meeting with NGOs.
"The new rules say that we have to inform the department every time we go to attend a rescue call. Further, we have been asked to deposit the animal or reptile with the forest department within half an hour of catching it. Now, this is proving to be a bone of contention since, on an average rainy day, we get over 25-30 calls and if, every time, we had to make a trip back to the department to drop the reptile, we would be able to attend only a fraction of those calls. The new rule is neither practical, nor does it make any sense, especially when the wildlife act says that we have to deposit the animals/reptiles within 48 hours," said a volunteer with one of the NGOs.
After organizing a strike for one week, the NGOs started attending distress calls from residents after a meeting with Vadodara-based forest department official, R G Prajapati, who, reportedly assured that that the new rules could be discussed at the August 1 meeting. It helped that scanty rains are keeping reptiles mostly in their own habitats, instead of straying into homes and gardens, as was the case at the beginning of rainy season. "The matter has to reach a conclusion," said the head of one NGO.
Box: Reptiles rescued
A cobra was rescued on Monday morning from ONGC campus where it had entered a room cooler, and was unable to come out. Later, in the afternoon, a rat snake was spotted in the school inside the campus, forcing the authorities to again send a distress call to Crocodile group, which had rescued the cobra earlier. "We have been getting four to five calls these days even if it is not raining," said the volunteer. Two days ago, the NGOs and the forest department rescued a 6-foot crocodile from a village near Jhambughoda where it had come out of a pond only to slip into a freshly dug well nearby. The volunteers drained water equal to 15-20 tanker loads with the help of pumping machines to rescue the crocodile.