Congress vs BJP: The politics around India's cheetah relocation project
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs flown in from Namibia into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. However, the PM's 'Project Cheetah' triggered a ferocious political battle with Congress stating that the seeds of this project were laid under former PM Manmohan Singh in 2010. As the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spar, here's more about India's 'cheetah politics.'
Why does this story matter?
The cheetah—the world's fastest land animal capable of reaching a speed of over 110 kilometers per hour—had gone extinct in India in 1952 due to habitat loss and overhunting. It is considered a vulnerable species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, with less than 7,000 cheetahs remaining worldwide—primarily in the African savannas.
Hours after PM's ceremony, Congress claims credit
On Saturday evening, Congress, with an image of MP Jairam Ramesh petting a cheetah, tweeted out that the proposal was originally prepared under the UPA government. It said, "The proposal for 'Project Cheetah' was prepared in 2008-09...In April 2010, then Minister of Forest and Environment Jairam Ramesh went to the Cheetah Outreach Center in Africa." However, the Supreme Court ordered a stay in 2012.
Take a look at what the Congress said
But, what is the history of Project Cheetah?
Getting cheetahs back to India has been 12 years in the making. Congress government, in 2010, proposed to fly African cheetahs to India and put them in different wildlife sanctuaries where they had been found earlier but were now extinct. However, a petition was lodged in the Supreme Court in 2012 against importing cheetahs from Namibia and relocating them to MP's Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary.
Some background about conservation efforts
In 1995, a petition by the Centre for the Environment Law challenged Indian government's wildlife conservation efforts and asked the SC to monitor it. In 2012, the plea against 'Project Cheetah' was filed by the amicus curiae in the case, PS Narasimha. The plea said that the Kuno-Palpur sanctuary had been designated as the relocation site of Asiatic Lions from the Gir Sanctuary.
SC quashed the Cheetah Project in 2013
According to India Today, Narasimha said that Environment Ministry's decision to introduce African cheetahs into the same habitat as the lions "has not been either placed before the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) nor has been a considered decision taken in this regard." As a result, a two-judge bench quashed the decision by the Singh government in 2013.
What did the SC say while quashing the project?
According to reports, the SC insisted that a detailed scientific study needs to be conducted before "introducing a foreign species" to India. "The decision taken by the ministry to first introduce African cheetahs in Kuno and then the Asiatic lion, is arbitrary and illegal. It is a clear violation of the statutory requirements provided under the Wildlife Protection Act," the top court had said.
Plea in SC to review decision
After being in cold storage for many years, Project Cheetah was revived by an SC plea in 2017. The petition argued that the government had done a feasibility study and consulted the NBWL which considered the proposal in September 2012. The plea included a 2010 report by two wildlife trusts that had assessed 10 sites across five states to determine habitat and viability.
Project resumed on experimental basis
After two years, the SC bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde allowed the government to kickstart the project on a trial basis. "It is submitted that African Cheetahs should be introduced on an experimental basis...to see whether they can adapt to the Indian conditions," the bench directed. The court also created a three-member panel of experts to oversee the project.
Watch: Cheetahs released into Kuno
No reports filed by panel
There have been no hearings after 2020 and the court has also not clarified if the expert panel submitted any reports, despite it being a condition of the 2020 order. However, on Saturday, India watched as the PM released the first cheetah into Kuno. The government has introduced five female cheetahs and three male cheetahs into the sanctuary.
