GIB Sanctuary land alloted but wait still on..
GIB Sanctuary land alloted but wait still on..
The Gujarat forest department was allotted 3,700 hectares of land in two separate pieces at Abdasa in Kutch around the existing 200 hectare sanctuary in March 2017.
However, since last one year the sanctuary for the Great Indian Bustard, an endangered species, is facing neglect due to lack of development for the past one year.
Concern have been raised over the delay as it takes four years to develop habitat for the Great Indian Bustard and considering the number of birds that exist, it may make pose further problems to nurture the species that is already endangered.
The additional 3700 hectares allotted has an abundance of wild shrubs, dense baboon trees. Still no survey has been done to check the existence of carnivores and dogs on the new land.
The forest department claims it has already started work to develop the new land, but the development depends on the grants sanctioned
Devesh Gadhvi (Deputy director of Corbett Foundation active GIB conservation )said, "If work starts immediately, it will take about four years to develop a habitat. Only a few GIBs exist in Gujarat at present which is a matter of concern. Besides, the area is surrounded by windmills and power lines that can prove to be detrimental for increasing the numbers of the species."
Deputy conservator of forests (Kutch west) B J Asari said, "We have already built a boundary in about 2,000 hectares area and work on habitat development will start soon. There is tremendous concern and we are working hard for developing of the new land."
