Revenue land allotted for bustard habitat.

TNN Dec 20, 2011, 04.35AM IST
AHMEDABAD: In a reversal of sorts from recent trends, the Gujarat government alloted 1500 hectares of revenue land in Kutch to the forest department for the development of a habitat for the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. This land near the Kutch Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary is spread across two square kilometres in Nalia taluka, which is a prime breeding ground for the species.
The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) was up-listed to 'Critically Endangered,' the highest level of threat, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in June this year.
According to a report by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), population of the GIB has been falling very fast and the bustards have disappeared from about 90 per cent of its range, while about there has been a 75 per cent decline within three generations. "We alloted 1500 hectare revenue land to the forest department recently for conservation of GIB," said Kutch district collector M Thennarasan. This has been done on the request of the forest department, he said. "Since the Bustards like grassland we plan to develop natural grass land in the area," Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) D K Sharma said.
"The area alloted is presently not ideal due to agriculture activity and human interference. We will first stop all agriculture and develop grassland, as well as providing any other protection that may be required," he said.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-20/ahmedabad/30537797_1_great-indian-bustard-revenue-land-bustard-habitat