Lok Sabha Question No. 2698 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-15
Subject: Conservation of Great Indian Bustard
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: DEVUSINH JESINGBHAI CHAUHAN, RABINDRA KUMAR JENA, VINOD CHAVDA, JAYSHREEBEN  PATEL, SADASHIV KISAN LOKHANDE, RAJESHBHAI NARANBHAI CHUDASAMA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2698

TO BE ANSWERED ON  15.12.2015

## Conservation of Great Indian Bustard

## 2698.  SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN:

SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA:

SHRI VINOD LAKHAMASHI CHAVDA:

SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL:

SHRI SADASHIV LOKHANDE:

SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA:

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

- (a) whether the population of the Great Indian Bustard is on the decline in the country and the said species is on the verge of extinction;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government has received proposals regarding Species Recovery Plan of Gujarat State for Rs. 187.13 crores for the Great Indian Bustard in 2014 and rationalisation of the boundaries of Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary from the State Government of Maharashtra;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the action taken so far in this regard; and
- (e) the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  for  conservation  of  the  Great  Indian Bustard including the funds allocated for the purpose during the last three years and the current year?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

- (a)&(b) Yes, Sir. The Great Indian Bustard is one of the critically endangered species of  bird  in  India  and  is  confined  to  6  states  viz.,  Rajasthan,  Gujarat, Maharashtra,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Karnataka  and  Andhra  Pradesh.  Population of this species is estimated to be less than 300. The population of this species is declining due to alteration of important bustard habitats due to industrialization, mining, intensive agricultural practices etc.
- (c)&(d) The State Government of Gujarat has submitted a Species Recovery Plan of Rs.187.13  crores  for  the  period  of  ten  years  for  Great  Indian  Bustard  to Union Government for financial assistance during 2014-15. The proposal has been examined in the Ministry.

The  proposal  for  rationalization  of  Great  Indian  Bustard  Sanctuary  was received by the Ministry. The proposal was recommended by the Standing

Committee  of  National  Board  for  Wildlife  in  its  36 th meeting  held  on  4 th November 2015.  The recommendation of the Standing Committee has been forwarded to the State Government of Maharashtra.

- (e) Great  Indian  Bustard  has  been  identified  as  one  of  the  species  under  the component 'Recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats' of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of 'Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats'. Financial assistance of Rs. 65.36 lakh and Rs. 110.63 lakh has been provided to State Government of Maharashtra and Rajasthan respectively during the current financial year 2015-16 under this component for conservation of Great Indian Bustard.

Financial assistance is also provided to the State Governments for protection of  Great  Indian  Bustard  habitats  under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of 'Integrated  Development  of  Wildlife  Habitats'.  A  list  of  such  Protected Areas along with details of the funds released during last three years and the current year under this scheme is given in the Annexure.

Further, the National CAMPA Advisory Council in its 6 th meeting held on 8 th July, 2015 has approved an amount of Rs 33.85 crores in duration of 5 years for the project entitled habitat improvement and conservation breeding of the Indian Bustard- an integrated approach'. This project is to be coordinated by Wildlife Institute of India.  The amount of Rs. 9.95 crores has been released during the first year, 2015-16.

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## ANNEXURE

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (e)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2698 REGARDING 'CONSERVATION OF GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD' BY SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN, SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA,  SHRI  VINOD  LAKHAMASHI  CHAVDA,  SHRIMATI  JAYSHREEBEN PATEL, SHRI SADASHIV LOKHANDE AND SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA FOR REPLY ON 15.12.2015

## Funds Released to Great Indian Bustard habitats under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme-'Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats'

(Rs.in lakhs)

| S.No.   | Name of NP/WLS                                      |   2012-13 |   2013-14 |   2014-15 |   2015-16(As on 10.12.2015) |
|---------|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------------------------|
| 1       | Rollapadu WLS (Andhra Pradesh)                      |    16.03  |      0    |      0    |                        0    |
| 2       | Kachchh Bustard WLS (Gujarat)                       |    21.68  |     14.8  |     16    |                       11.79 |
| 3       | Gaga Great Indian Bustard WLS (Gujarat)             |     6.22  |      8.2  |     12.16 |                        2.48 |
| 4       | Ghatigaon Great Indian Bustard WLS (Madhya Pradesh) |    30.133 |     16.96 |     10.77 |                        0    |
| 5       | Karera WLS (Madhya Pradesh)                         |     9.88  |     13.33 |      0    |                        8.6  |
| 6       | Great Indian Bustard WLS (Maharashtra)              |    20.728 |     17.58 |     21.45 |                        6.32 |
| 7       | New Great Indian Bustard WLS (Maharashtra)          |     0     |      0    |      7.98 |                        0    |
| 8       | Ranebennur WLS (Karnataka)                          |    24     |     24.4  |     29.79 |                       13.11 |
| 9       | Desert NP (Rajasthan)                               |    15.9   |     34.64 |     23.46 |                       13.76 |
|         | TOTAL                                               |   144.571 |    129.91 |    121.61 |                       56.06 |

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