Madhya Pradesh’s Palpur-Kuno wildlife sanctuary may soon become a second home for Asiatic lions as a Central team has favoured their translocation from Gujarat's Gir. This development has brought a ray of hope for the Madhya Pradesh Government and wildlife lovers who have been awaiting the shifting of the lions after a Supreme Court judgement in this regard in April 2013.
The expert committee was headed by an Additional Director-General of Forests under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. "Kuno has achieved amazing recovery of the habitat and is practically ready for translocation of lions," as per the 'points of discussion' of the committee.
Various studies, including the one by Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII), have been conducted to assess the suitability of Kuno to accommodate the lions. "All members of the expert committee, except (the representative of) the Gujarat Forest Department (GFD), were of the opinion that these studies may continue in parallel to the process of translocation of lions. But the GFD has recorded its objection to this proposal," it said.
The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department will complete the process of declaring Kuno as a 'national park' by the end of next month, reads the discussion points, a copy of which was received in response to an RTI query filed by wildlife activist Ajay Dubey. Dubey has also filed a contempt petition in the apex court, seeking implementation of its 2013 order.
In a project report to the Environment Ministry, WII has said lion reintroduction in the Kuno sanctuary would not wait for the completion of an ongoing study since the institute's earlier ecological assessment had already validated the potential of that area to support about 40 lions. The Madhya Pradesh Government has been seeking transfer of Asiatic lions from Gujarat to its Palpur-Kuno sanctuary. The reintroduction plan of lions has faced stiff opposition from Gujarat.
In April 2013, the Supreme Court had ordered shifting of some lions to Kuno. The apex court had directed the Environment Ministry to shift them by October, 2013.