Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project

[Rishi]

Prosecute those who scuttled SC judgment to protect Gir Lions 
Justice KS Radhakrishnan talks to Mathrubhumi Online

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The sole objective of the SC judgment was to protect the endangered Gir Lions of Gujarat, concluded the court after detailed discussions with eminent wildlife biologists of India, apart from meticulously evaluating the scientific studies of the Wildlife Institute of India, said Justice KS Radhakrishnan. But it seems that the judgment was scuttled without caring for the lions. Those who scuttled it should be brought before law for contempt of court proceedings as well as subjected to prosecution, he said in an interview to Mathrubhumi Online.

The judgment was delivered by a division bench of the court on April 15, 2013. At least two decades back Dehradun’s Wildlife Institute has been carrying detailed scientific studies to protect the Asiatic lions, now living only around Gir, had felt that the Gir lions need a second home, because in case an epidemic spreads, the entire lion community would be wiped out. If any such thing occurs in Gir, it would cause irrecoverable havoc.

After studies, the wildlife institute came to the conclusion that Kuno forest in MP is an ideal location with the same habitat like Gir with similar terrain, grasslands, water availability and enough prey. The region was a former habitat of lions in India. The union forest ministry had approved the same while we considered a petition to translocate a few lions to Kuno and gradually implement the union ministry’s project so that a part of them can be shifted and protected. The Court had detailed discussions with wildlife biologists who were present in the court.

We bestowed our anxious considerations to protect a species but the judgment was scuttled said the Justice.
From the very beginning, the Gujarat Government was objecting to the second home in Kuno. They said the lions were well protected but the Court, on the basis of scientific studies, approved the project as fully supported by the Union Government,\ which was directed to implement the judgment within six months from the date of pronouncing the order.
A committee was formed by the union government to implement it. At first, at least 10 lions were to be taken to Kuno and gradually in a time bound project more lions would be shifted. But nothing happened, the committee was silenced. It met only a few times in last few years and In 2015, the then Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar told the Parliament that the implementation will take some more time though the Court had fixed six months. That sounded the death knell of the committee.

Justice Radhakrishnan opined that the union government should find out who were all responsible to scuttle the judgment. They have to be prosecuted prosecuted for violating the judgment of the court. The judgment was delivered imbibing the spirit of the Wildlife Protection Act, Biological Diversity Act and numerous proceedings taken by the Union Ministry of Forests to protect the endangered species. But it was given scant respect, observed Justice Radhakrishnan.

Now the scenario is alarming as 23 lions are dead due to viral infection. But some unofficial sources claimed the toll to be as high as at 60!

Though the Gujarat government lied that death was due to infightings among the lions, until the Virology Institute of Pune has said that viral infection was the cause of deaths. Now a bench of the SC headed by Justice Madan Lokur is aware of the serious situation of non-implementing a well-considered judgment of 2013. Reply