Supreme Court seeks comprehensive plan to save the Great India Bustard

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday told the Union government to formulate a comprehensive plan to save the critically-endangered Great Indian Bustard, and sought authentic data from a government-monitored study on the efficacy of the bird diverters in saving them from collision-related deaths.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra emphasised that in the absence of a way forward it would be “groping in dark”.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing the PIL petitioner M K Ranjitsinh, a retired IAS officer and others, submitted that GIB is on the verge of extinction and the court's 2021 judgement has not been complied with.

The bench said that the apex court had already delivered a judgment and the Centre should decide on the way forward.

The court asked Attorney General R Venkatramani on existence of data, based on scientific studies as GIBs die of collision with the ''overhead power transmission line''.

“Do we have any authentic data from a government-monitored study on the efficacy of the bird diverters in saving the GIBs from collision-related deaths,” the bench asked Attorney General R Venkataramani.

The court asked him to make personal efforts to resolve the issue.

“We are asking the AG about the way forward. Tell us what can be done," the bench asked Venkatramani.

The bench asked Rajasthan and Gujarat governments as well as the court-appointed panel to file a status report.

The GIB is especially found in Rajasthan and Gujarat, and according to the 2021 report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the species are on the verge of extinction with hardly 50 to 249 of them alive.

During the hearing, the CJI said, ''I am not sanguine about the bird diverters. What is the data with the Centre on the efficacy of bird diverters?”

The bench referred to two aspects involved in the matter, one regarding the birds and the other related to setting up of solar power plants which can be set up in states like Rajasthan and Gujarat, the key habitats of this endangered species.

The bench said a report should also be filed showing the need of the solar power plants operating keeping in mind India's commitment at the international level.

The bench fixed the matter for further hearing on February 9.