Lok Sabha Question No. 1996 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Great Indian Bustard
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Pratima Mondal

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1996

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 14.03.2022

## Great Indian Bustard

## 1996.   SHRIMATI PRATIMA MONDAL:

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

- (a) the details of action taken by the Government to protect the Great Indian Bustard in the country;
- (b) whether the captive breeding facilities are being established to prevent extinction of the bird and if so,the details thereof; and
- (c) 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

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) and (b)

Important  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  protection  of  Great Indian Bustards in the country including details of captive breeding facilities are as given below:

- i. A site for establishment of a Conservation Breeding Centre for the Great Indian Bustard has been identified at Kota District, Rajasthan  in  consultations  with  State  Forest  Departments  of Rajasthan and Gujarat, Wildlife Institute of India and international experts, under the project titled 'Habitat Improvement  and  Conservation  Breeding  of  Great  Indian Bustard-an integrated approach'. Currently, a satellite conservation  breeding  facility  with  incubator,  hatcher,  chick rearing and housing for captive birds has been set up at Sam, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan and is managed  by WII Scientists, Rajasthan  Forest  Department  with  the  technical  assistance  of the International Fund for Houbara Conservation and Reneco, Abu  Dhabi.  A  total  of  sixteen  (16)  GIB  chicks,  (artificially hatched  from  eggs  collected  from  wild)  are  being  reared presently in the satellite conservation breeding facility at Sam, Jaisalmer Rajasthan.
- ii. The  Great  Indian  Bustard  is  listed  in  Schedule-I  of  the  Wild Life  (Protection)  Act,  1972,  thereby,  according  it  highest degree of legal protection from hunting.
- iii. Important habitats of Great Indian Bustards are designated as National Parks/Sanctuaries for their better protection.
- iv. The species has been identified for conservation efforts under the component 'Species Recovery Programme' of the Centrally Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)-Development  of  Wildlife  Habitat. 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  Great  Indian  Bustard  and  its habitat.
- v. Ministry has taken up an initiative on conservation breeding of the  Great  Indian  Bustard  in  collaboration  with  Rajasthan, Gujarat  and  Maharashtra  Forest  Departments  and  technical support from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. The Ministry  with  financial  support  from  National  Authority  for Compensatory Afforestation Funds has sanctioned an outlay of Rs. 33.85 crores for the duration of five years for the programme  titled  'Habitat  Improvement  and  Conservation Breeding of Great Indian Bustard-an integrated approach'. The objective of this programme is to build up captive population of  Great  Indian  Bustard  and  to  release  the  chicks  in  the  wild for  increasing  the  population  and  also  to  promote  in-situ conservation of the species.
- vi. Ministry has also constituted a Task Force for suggesting Ecofriendlymeasures  to  mitigate  impacts  of  power  transmission lines  and  other power transmission infrastructures on wildlife including the Great Indian Bustard.
- vii. The Great Indian Bustard has been included in the Appendix I of  Convention  on  Migratory  Species  (CMS)  of  the  basis  of proposal  submitted  by  India.  It  was  also  the  mascot  of  the prestigious 13 th CMS Conference of Parties held in Gandhinagar giving wider publicity for the conservation of the species.
8. (c) As per the studies conducted by Wildlife Institute of India, there are around  150  Great  Indian  Bustards  left  across  the  country  which includes about 128 birds in Rajasthan and less than 10 birds each in the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.