Lok Sabha Question No. 1124 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-08
Subject: Great Indian Bustard
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: POONAM  MAHAJAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1124

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.02.2019

## Great Indian Bustard

## 1124. SHRIMATI POONAMMAHAJAN:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether only one male Great Indian Bustard, is surviving in Kutch district of Gujarat;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and there action of the Government thereto;
- (c) the reasons for the decline of the male population of the Great Indian Bustard in Gujarat;
- (d) the action taken by the Government to protect the Great Indian Bustard in the country;
- (e) whether the captive breeding facilities are being established to prevent extinction of the bird and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) the total population of the Great Indian Bustard in the country, State-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a)&(b)

Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is a critically endangered species of bird found in  India.  As  per  the  information  received  from  the  State  Government  of Gujarat, Seven numbers of male Great Indian Bustards were recorded in a Census  carried  out  in  November,  2016  in  Kutch  district  of  Gujarat.  State Government  is  taking  all  necessary  actions  to  preserve  and  conserve  the Great Indian Bustard. These includes:

- i. Declaration of Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary and eco sensitive zone in Abdasa taluka of Kutch district.
- ii. The State scheme on Great Indian Bustard conservation is operational.
- iii. State has developed chain link fencing surrounding the GIB Sanctuary and  Protected Area  and  also initiated the stray dog  sterilization programme in surrounding villages.
- iv. Regular  patrolling  and  monitoring  work  is  being  done  in  the  area  by Forest Department staff.
- v. State  Government  has  also  developed  education,  awareness  &  Eco

development in villages surrounding the sanctuary.

- (c ) State Government of Gujarat has stated that no specific reasons has been reported for the decline of the male population of the Great Indian Bustard in Kutch.
- (d) Important efforts made by the Government for conservation of Great Indian Bustards are as given below:
- i. The  Great  Indian  Bustard  is  listed  in  Schedule-I  of  the  Wild  Life (Protection) Act, 1972, thereby, according them highest degree of legal protection from hunting.
- ii. Important habitats of Great Indian Bustards are designated as National Parks/ Sanctuaries for their better protection.
- iii. The Ministry has taken up the initiative for conservation breeding of the Great  Indian  Bustard  (GIB)  under  the  Endangered  Species  Recovery Programme Scheme, in the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
- iv. In consultation with State Government, Wildlife Institute of India and international experts, a site for establishment of Conservation breeding centre has been identified in Kota District, Rajasthan.
- v. Financial  and  technical  assistance  is  provided  to  the  State/  Union Territory  Governments  under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of Development of Wildlife Habitat for providing better protection to GIB and its habitat.
- (e) A  conservation  breeding  program  has  been  formulated  by  Ministry  of Environment,  Forest  &  Climate  Change,  Government  of  Rajasthan  and Wildlife Institute of India as  part  of  the  Tripartite  Memorandum  of Agreement  under  the  project  'Habitat  Improvement  and  Conservation Breeding  of  Great  Indian  Bustard  (GIB)-An  Integrated  Approach'  with financial  support  from  MoEF&CC.  An  important  component  of  this programme is to initiate Conservation Breeding as an insurance against total extinction  and  possible  restocking  of  wild  populations  of  GIB  and  Lesser Florican species in the future.
- (f) As per the information received from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, the  total  number  of  Great  Indian  Bustard  in  India  is  less  than  150 individuals. There are 128 + 19 individuals in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan and 5-10 individuals across Deccan (Solapur, Bellary, Kurnool). The State Government of Gujarat has informed that as per the census carried out in Noveber, 2016, the total population of GIB in the State was 25.