Gujarat energy dept proposes translocation of 4 female Great Indian Bustards
The Gujarat energy department has told the Supreme Court in an affidavit that the option of translocating four female Great Indian Bustards (GIB) out of the state’s Kutch region may be explored.
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat’s energy department has backed translocation of the four Great Indian Bustards (GIB) out of the state’s Kutch region, telling the Supreme Court in an affidavit that this option may be explored.
“As per the information available, there are four female GIBs left in Kutch area, therefore the option of re-locating the remaining GIBs may be explored,” the energy department’s affidavit filed in the top court on April 21 said.
HT has reviewed a copy of the affidavit.
The energy department’s application was in reply to a PIL matter where the Supreme Court issued an order on April 19, 2021 to take the power lines underground for the protection of GIBs in the priority and potential habitat of Kutch, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, and to install diverters on all powerlines until it is done.
Since 2018 no male bustards have been found in Kutch.
Since great Indian bustards are heavy birds with limited frontal vision, they find it difficult to change their course of flight swiftly even if they spot a live wire.
The Kutch GIB sanctuary, spread over 2 square kilometre in Abadasa taluka, has often been hailed as one of the finest habitats for the critically endangered species. The bustard habitat is spread in an area of 2,000 sq km in Kutch.
“Re-location of the bustards is difficult and not safe. They are wild birds and cannot be used for captive breeding programme in Rajasthan. Getting a male GIB to Kutch is a better solution. We plan to explore that option,” Shyamal Tikadar, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden of Gujarat told Hindustan Times.
The GIB is a critically endangered bird with its last viable breeding population in India. Less than 100 of these magnificent grassland birds remain in the wild, according to conservation experts.
Though habitat loss and degradation have been responsible for this bird’s decline in the past few decades, their deaths due to collision with overhead power lines for renewable energy generation, especially windmills, has been the biggest direct threat.
During the 14th meeting of the State Board for Wildlife in February 2019, former chief minister Vijay Rupani who was then the board chairperson said that irrespective of the costs, parties concerned must lay the power lines underground.
On April 19, 2021, a Supreme Court bench ordered that power lines be taken underground. The SC order covers Adadasa and Mandvi taluka in Kutch district of Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan.
“We are all in favour of alternative energy. But it should not be at the cost of a species going extinct in the world. If they (government) can do it (lay underground lines) for flamingoes in the Khadir region in Kutch, why can’t they do it for bustards?,” said Dr M K Ranjitsinh Jhala, the lead petitioner of the PIL filed in the Supreme Court. He is considered the architect of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
He said one of the reasons behind the energy department’s move may be to remove the bustards altogether and thereby do away with the issue of taking the overhead powerlines underground.
“Once the GIBs are out of the sanctuary, the Kutch GIB Sanctuary can be de-notified. There have been such instances in the past including three sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh that were de-notified in similar circumstances. There is no question of stopping the electricity supply or power production. The only matter is to change the mode of transmission and send the power lines underground in crucial areas. And if not done, then we will be facilitating the extinction of GIB. It may become the first species of India that will be deliberately made extinct despite knowing the scientific steps to save it,” said Jhala.
The GIB named ‘Gibi’ was the mascot for the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), in Gandhinagar in February 2020.
The CMS is an environmental treaty agreed under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme. The Government of India had moved a proposal in February 2020 at the COP-CMS convention in Gujarat for the inclusion of GIBs in Appendix 1. Once this is done, CMS parties, which include more than 124 countries, strive to protect the species. This covers actions such as conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration, and controlling other factors that might endanger them.
The GIB habitat in Kutch is also a part of the Central Asian Flyway route of migration and a large number of migratory species are sighted here during winters.
The bustard habitat in Kutch is also a part of the Central Asian Flyway route of migration and a large number of migratory species are sighted here during winters.
Abdasa, which houses the GIB Sanctuary, is the only place in India where all three species of bustards including Asian Houbara, GIB and Lesser Florican can be seen in the same habitat during different seasons, according to Dr. Devesh Gadhavi, deputy director at the Corbett Foundation. “Hence, it is of the utmost urgency to safeguard these bustard habitats,” said Gadhvi.
The collaborative work of the Corbett Foundation and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) reveals that nearly 30,000 birds of different species die due to collision with power lines annually in Abdasa taluka of Kutch district alone.
The WII also estimates that over 1 lakh birds are killed annually in Rajasthan’s Thar due to collision with overhead powerlines. The 2021 study by WII estimates that 18 GIBs die each year due to collision with power lines in Thar.
A Central government backed captive breeding programme is underway in Rajasthan. It is the state bird of Rajasthan.
“Abdasa is the ‘Bustard Capital’ of India as three species of bustards are found here. Conserving these areas will be beneficial not only to the GIBs but also to the lesser floricans who are also known to be colliding with powerlines as per the latest research study. It is also important to keep these habitats free from the overhead powerlines and managed as bustard habitats so that the captive-bred bird can be released here in near future” said Gadhvi, who has been working for the conservation of GIB in Kutch for more than 12 years.
An official at the state’s energy department said that the translocation proposal was for exploratory purpose and that they have also submitted before the court that the state power transmission company GETCO has initiated the process for purchase of 18,000 bird diverters and they are likely to be installed by June this year. The affidavit also says that the state distribution company PGVCL is conducting feasibility studies of taking overhead lines underground.