Great Indian Bustard

Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is one of the heaviest flying birds endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
IUCN Status : Critically Endangered. Listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and in Appendix I of CITES.
The majority of the surviving birds live in fragmented grasslands of Rajasthan and Gujarat, along with a few individuals in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
GIB is nearing extinction due to collision with high voltage power lines that criss – cross their flying path, according to a report by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), a statutory body under the MoEFCC.
It is the state bird of Rajasthan state and it was also mascot for 13th COP of Convention for Migratory Species held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat in 2020.
The only opportunity to potentially recover this species remains in the Thar landscape of Rajasthan, where the birds are now limited to two extant populations – one inside Desert (National Park) Sanctuary near Jaisalmer, and the second population located in the grasslands and agricultural lands of Pokhran and Ramdeora.

The Supreme Court is hearing a case regarding collision of GIB birds falling dead after colliding with power lines running through their natural habitats in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
When the Supreme Court asked about transforming the overhead power lines to underground lines, the Ministry of Power said that only low voltage lines can go underground but not the high voltage ones.
To know more about flight diverters visit https://officerspulse.com/pokhrans-firefly-bird-diverters-shine-to-save-the-great-indian-bustard/
The alternative mechanism is to install flight diverters, but the Supreme Court has noticed that installation of flight diverters too are expensive to install,
Finally the SC has stated that wherever there are high voltage power lines, they can use flight bird diverters even if the recurring costs are high. Wherever there are overhead low voltage lines, these lines can be placed underground

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