SC asks Centre to expand habitat for cheetahs, ‘avoid politics’

The Supreme Court also questioned the rationale behind Centre’s decision to keep all 20 cheetahs relocated from two African countries in one state

Expressing concern over recent deaths of three cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Union government to consider developing more habitat for the wild animal in other states as well without bringing “politics in this matter”.

Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Union government to consider developing more habitat for cheetahs. (PTI)

The apex court also questioned the rationale behind Centre’s decision to keep all 20 cheetahs — of which 17 are currently alive — relocated from two African countries in one state, Madhya Pradesh.

“An expert committee constituted by this court had said Kuno is not historically suitable for keeping cheetahs. Consider having them elsewhere, in Rajasthan,” a bench of justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol said, asking, “Why only in Madhya Pradesh?”

The bench gave Centre time till July to find a solution in this regard.

The court’s concern stemmed from the fact that despite an action plan in place by the Centre on scientific introduction of cheetahs and a task force constituted to monitor their health, behaviour and upkeep, three cheetahs died in the wild in the past three months.

“We are not saying deaths happened because of your (Centre) neglect… we have only expressed our concern,” the bench said.

Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the ministry of environment, forests, and climate change (MoEF&CC), said the deaths were not uncommon.

“The idea is to bring more cheetahs over the years. There are few places under our consideration,” she said.

Even the action plan of the Centre indicated that Kuno could sustain up to 21 cheetahs and is the first among many sites being developed for introducing cheetahs in the wild, the ASG added.

To this the court replied, “We are not doubting your intentions. But do something. If you have 3-4 sanctuaries for them… the more the better.”

The court also wondered why the Centre was not exploring sanctuaries outside Madhya Pradesh. “Rajasthan has many such places. It is necessary to take everyone on board. Do not bring politics in this matter,” it said.

In the first inter-continental translocation project, eight cheetahs were brought to Kuno National Park from Namibia on September 17 last year, after a decades-long effort to restore a species that was declared extinct from the country in 1952. Another 12 cheetahs were translocated from South Africa on February 18. Of the 20 cheetahs, three named Sasha, Uday and Daksha died on March 27, April 23 and May 10, respectively.

In March, the apex court had asked the government if its task force had any experts on cheetahs. The Centre filed an affidavit indicating the composition of the nine-member task force comprising forest officers, administrative officers and scientists having vast experience in forestry and wildlife management.

The ASG told the court that since cheetahs went extinct from India decades ago, there are no cheetah experts in India. However, for the successful implementation of Project Cheetah, officials of the task force were sent for training and exposure visits to Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania to get a first-hand experience on management of cheetahs and other wildlife.

The court pointed out that the expert committee constituted by it in January 2020 to assist the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on the aspect of cheetah introduction had three members, including noted wildlife expert MK Ranjitsinh, who has had significant expertise on cheetahs.

In an application in March, the Centre said it no longer required the assistance of the MK Ranjitsinh committee and urged the court to allow NTCA to proceed with the work on Project Cheetah by taking the help of the expert committee, as and when needed.

It was while considering this application, senior advocate Prashanto Chandra Sen, assisting the committee, informed the court that none of the members of government-constituted task force had expertise in management of cheetahs.