Committee for spot appraisal of lions in and around the Gir

New Delhi, Apr 9 (UNI) Concerned about recent reports on deaths of lions in Gir, the government has constituted a committee for spot appraisal relating to recurring mortality of lions in and around the National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat.

National Tiger Conservation Authority, a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, today announced the composition and the terms of reference of the committee, a statement said here.

It would consider the fact that the only last world population of the highly endangered Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) was present in the this habitat.

Regional Deputy Directors (Wildlife) Western Region Meeta Banerjee and Regional Deputy Directors (Wildlife) Northern Region Santosh Tiwari would be members of the committee. This three-member committee would have Joint Director (Wildlife), Ministry of Environment and Forests Pramod Krishnan as Member Convener.

The committee would give appraisal of protection strategy in vogue vis-a-vis mortality of lions during the last three years (natural/disease/poaching), resource dependency of local people on Gir habitat and steps taken towards redressing park people interface conflicts and fostering co-existence, managerial constraints in this area and possibility of restorative management in crucial corridor linkages around Gir to prevent insularisation of the lion population.

The committee would also recommend measures to improve the situation.

National Tiger Conservation Authority Member Secretary Rajesh Gopal said the committee could co-opt state officials as members if required and submit its report within 30 days.

UNI