Asiatic lions = legal

 

GUJARAT MULLS FILING CURATIVE PLEA IN SC

Thursday, 21 November 2013 | Nayan Dave | GANDHINAGAR

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With the Supreme Court dismissing the Gujarat Government’s plea to review the apex court’s order in last April to translocate Asiatic Lions from Gir to Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, the State Government is mulling to file curative petition in an attempt to maintain exclusivity of Gir Sanctuary as the only abode of Asiatic Lions.

Talking to The Pioneer, Gujarat’s Additional Chief Secretary of Forest & Environment HK Dash confirmed that the review petition filed by the State Government was rejected by the top court. Dash, however, said that copy of detailed order has not been received by his department yet.

“We would like to go through the detail order first and then seek for opinions from legal experts on future strategy,” he said. When asked about whether the State Government would file curative petition, the bureaucrat replied that his department would also consider it in order to espouse exclusivity of Gir forest.

Meanwhile, top sources in the State Government’s forest as well as legal departments opined that curative petition would be the only legal resort for the Gujarat Government and very soon it would be tried to keep hopes alive of not having to part with Gujarat’s pride – Asiatic Lions.

The apex court had observed that the species was under threat of extinction and required a second home to save the big cats from possible threats like epidemics or other calamities. Once found in almost entire Saurashtra region, area of the Asiatic Lions have been shrink to small patch of Gir forest only. Currently, there are more than 400 Asiatic Lions in Gir and surrounding areas, according to the State Forest Department.

A senior official said it was in the early 1990s, wildlife experts felt the need to search for a second home for the Asiatic Lions. In 1993-94, the Wildlife Institute of India suggested to shift few lions in Palpur Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary after surveying various locations across the country.

In the past couple of years, the Narendra Modi Government roped in Hindi film icon Amitabh Bachchan to promote Gir Sanctuary as major tourist destination banking upon the fact that it is the only abode of Asiatic Loins in the world. The Bachchan effect was so appealing that, number of visitors at the Sanctuary increased by manifolds. “If few pairs of the big cats would be shifted to MP, directly, it would have great impact on tourism activities in and around Gir area,” said a senior officials requesting anonymity.

The Forest Department in Madhya Pradesh has completed all the preparedness to bring the big cats. From Gujarat’s point of view, the State Government says that MP failed to conserve its own tiger population in the Panna Reserve forest and lions too wouldn’t be safe if translocated there. 

http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/gujarat-mulls-filing-curative-plea-in-sc.html