The Supreme Court has allowed the government to introduce the African cheetah to a suitable habitat on an experimental basis to see whether it can adapt to Indian conditions.

Stating that the rare Indian cheetah is almost extinct in the country, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had sought the apex court’s permission to relocate the African cheetah from Namibia.

The court set up a three-member committee, comprising former director of Wildlife of India Ranjit Singh, DG of Wildlife of India Dhananjay Mohan, and DIG, Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests to guide the NTCA in taking a decision on the matter.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant said the apex court will monitor the project and the committee will submit its report before it every four months.

What are the SC’s conditions?

It was submitted before the apex court that the African cheetah will be introduced on an experimental basis in the best suitable habitat to see whether it can adapt to Indian conditions.

The apex court said the decision for relocation of the African cheetah will be taken after a proper survey and the action of introduction of the animal will be left to NTCA’s discretion.

The SC Bench said the NTCA will be guided by the committee of experts who will carry out a survey for the “carefully chosen location on viability of doing it on a larger scale”. “In case of any difficulty, location would be changed to a more habitable one,” the SC said.

The NTCA had said the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which provides inputs to governments and institutions on biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development, has given no objection for the translocation. It also told the court they have complied with IUCN’s requirements for relocation of cheetahs here.

Earlier attempts

India’s last spotted cheetah had died in 1947. In 1952, the animal was declared extinct in the country.

The SC Bench on January 28 noted that the apex court in 2013 had turned down the plea for relocation of African cheetah at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

“We find that in 2013, this court struck down an order by the MoEF on the ground that it had not conducted any detailed study for introducing foreign species of cheetah to India, this application presumably remedied the defect,” the Bench said.

Advocate A.D.N. Rao, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae, explained the reasons for resistance of the African cheetah in the Indian conditions.

In 2018, the SC had said it was not against the ambitious project to relocate the African cheetah from Namibia to Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.

The apex court supported the move of the NTCA and said that it was not against the policy to experiment relocating African Cheetah in Madhya Pradesh.

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