HC notice to WII, govt over GIB captive breeding delay
JODHPUR: The Rajasthan High Court issued notices to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Centre and the state government on Monday over delay in starting a captive breeding centre for the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a terrestrial bird on the verge of extinction.
Taking suo motu cognisance of a news report on the issue, a division bench comprising Justice Sangeet Lodha and Justice Dinesh Mehta said the protection of GIB was very important, but due to unavailability of land, the project had not taken off.
The notices were accepted by additional advocate general Sandeep Shah on behalf of the state government and by assistant solicitor general Sanjit Purohit on the Centre’s behalf. HC also issued a show-cause notice to WII as the responsibility of captive breeding has been given to the Dehradun-based institute.
On June 20 last year, an MOU was signed among WII, state gov- ernment and the Centre for starting the breeding centres.
The ministry of environment, f orest and cl i mate change (MOEFCC) has reportedly sanctioned an outlay of Rs 33.85 crore for five years for the programme, ‘Habitat Improvement and Conservation Breeding of Great Indian Bustard -- an integrated approach’.
The programme also includes setting up of a hatchery centre in Jaisalmer as decided by WII. For this purpose, Rs. 9.95 crore has been released to WII as the first installment for the programme, funded from the central component of CAMPA (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority).
It was said that the objective of the programme was to build a captive population of GIB and release the chicks in the wild for increasing their population. In addition to the hatchery centre, a captive breeding centre is also proposed to be set up.
After consultation with expert Keith Scotland from Houbara Breeding Center, Uzbekistan, it was decided to set up the captive breeding centre at Sorsan near Kota.
HC expressed concern over the media reports that allotment of 700 hectares of land in Sorsan and 5 hectares in Jaisalmer district is still pending, even as the budget has been allocated.
The court has asked the central and state governments to reply by January 25.
GIBS are among the heaviest of flying birds; they have been given the critically endangered status by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.