A day after a Namibian cheetah died at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court on Tuesday sought details of experts in the Cheetah Task Force such as their qualification and experience.
The four-and-a-half-year-old female cheetah, named Sasha, died due to a kidney ailment more than six months after she was translocated to the Kuno National Park (KNP) from Namibia, along with seven other big cats.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Vikram Nath asked the Centre to furnish details of the experts in the task force who specialise in cheetah management, their experience and qualification within two weeks.
The top court›s direction came while hearing an application filed by the Centre seeking direction from the court that it is no longer necessary and mandatory for the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to continue taking the guidance and advice of the expert committee appointed by this court through an order dated January 28, 2020.
The top court had then said that the three-member committee comprising former director of wildlife protection M K Ranjit Sinh, chief conservator of forests, wildlife administration in Uttarakhand Dhananjai Mohan and the DIG (Wildlife) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) will guide the NTCA in the introduction of African cheetahs in India.
Senior Advocate Prashanto Chandra Sen, appearing for NGO Centre for Environment Law WWF, said that the Cheetah Task Force does not have any cheetah expert in the panel.\
He said that since cheetahs have been brought, the NTCA should continue to work with the expert committee constituted by the apex court, at least for the initial level.
«Cheetahs have come and we have lost one of them. There is a need to have experts, who have wide knowledge and experience in cheetah management,» he said.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said that the government has prepared a scientific action plan for introduction of cheetah in India.
«The action plan is a comprehensive scientific document prepared in consultation with scientists, veterinarians, forest officers and cheetah experts from India as well as other countries like Namibia, South Africa, United States of America, etc.,» she said.
