MP government to fund lion translocation on its own

The majestic Asiatic lions may finally find a new home. The much-awaited reintroduction of Asiatic lions from Gir forests of Gujarat to Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary of Sheopur district of MP is all set to take off.

Updated on: Aug 16, 2014, 21:30:51 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

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The majestic Asiatic lions may finally find a new home. The much-awaited reintroduction of Asiatic lions from Gir forests of Gujarat to Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary of Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh is all set to take off as the state government has decided to use its own resources to expedite the translocation of the king of the jungle.

The project was stalled following an objection of Gujarat government and a petition filed in Supreme Court. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India RM Lodha on Tuesday rejected the petition.

Unwilling to wait for the Central financing, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has decided to fund the project on its own.

"Though we have sent the proposal for funds to the Centre, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told me that MP government will spend the required money to make Palpur-Kuno an appropriate home for lions," Madhya Pradesh forest minister Gaurishankar Shejwar told HT.

"Lot of work has already been done and now we are readying for the rehabilitation of the two villages that would get displaced when lions come to the national park."

Earlier on April 15, 2013, the apex court in a judgment had directed that the lions be translocated to Kuno-Palpur in MP from the Gir Sanctuary.

Why translocation of lions As Asiatic lions exist only in Gir, where they number over 400, experts have often expressed apprehensions that high rate of inbreeding and less genetic diversity could make them susceptible to epidemics and make them extinct. In this light, a proposal was mooted to translocate a few of the Gir lions to MP in 2000.

Later, a study by the Wildlife Institute of India in 2006 identified Kuno-Palpur sanctuary as a suitable site for the translocation. Wildlife activist Fayaz Khudsar filed a public interest petition in the apex court in 2006 and sought translocation of Gir lions to MP.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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