Protection of Great Indian Bustard
Recently the Supreme Court (SC) appointed committee has submitted a report on the safety of Great Indian Bustard (GIB) from overhead electric wires.
The Supreme Court had constituted a 3-member committee to determine the technical feasibility of laying electrical cables underground.
In its report, the committee has recommended installation of bird diverters, which are flaps on electric wires.
These flaps act like a reflector and are visible to flying birds from about 50 meters away.
In the year 2021, the Supreme Court directed power companies to underground all low-voltage power lines in areas demarcated as ‘primary and potential habitats of GIB’ in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan and Kutch in Gujarat.
“Priority zones” are areas known to be habitat for birds. And “potential regions” are areas where bird conservation programs are conducted, such as breeding birds in captivity.
However, the State Governments have not taken concrete steps in compliance of the Supreme Court order. State governments argue that undergrounding overhead lines is costly and impractical.
Also, this will increase the cost of solar power. This will undermine India’s commitment to green growth.
Protection:
The Great Indian Bustard is listed in Schedule-I of the ‘Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972’, Critically Endangered in IUCN and Appendix-I of CITES.
Source – The Hindu
