Supreme Court today directed the Centre to translocate some lions from the Gir forest in Gujarat to Kuno Palpur sanctuary in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh. This has to be done within the next six months.
An expert committee will now decide on the number of lions to be translocated between the two states/
The Madhya Pradesh government wanted Gujarat to send a few Lions from Gir forest to its Kuno Palpur sanctuary. But, the Narendra Modi government opposed the translocation, saying Madhya Pradesh failed to protect its tigers in Panna sanctuary and the lions from the Gir forest may meet the same fate. The top court today rejected Gujarat’s stand.
The top court felt the lions should have a second home especially if an epidemic or fires wipe out the endangered species from one location.
The Gujarat Government was drawn into the legal battle in the Supreme Court against translocation of lions in the wake of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an environment group- Centre for Environment, which sought relocation of the lions.
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh has claimed that it is equipped with all the necessary infrastructure, expertise and environment for translocating the lions to its own sanctuary.
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