Ahmedabad: Gujarat was disbursed Rs 4.07 crore for vulture conservation from 2021-22 to 2023-24. The state received Rs 2 crore in 2022-23, and Rs 2.07 crore in 2023-24.
The data was tabled in Rajya Sabha in reply to the question by MP Kiran Choudhry. The govt, in its reply, stated that the first Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre was established in 2004 at Pinjore, Haryana. Gujarat too has a breeding centre, at Sakkarbaug Zoo, Junagadh, which was approved in 2007.
Additional centres have been set up at Rajabhatkhawa, West Bengal; Rani, Assam; Van Vihar National Park, Bhopal; Nandankanan Zoological Park, Bhubaneswar; Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad and Muta Zoo, Ranchi.
The Union govt stated that in Aug 2006, the Drugs Controller General of India banned the use, sale and manufacture of diclofenac for veterinary use. The vial size of the drug for human use was restricted to 3ml to prevent its misuse in treating livestock. Also, in 2015, the Union govt restricted the packaging of multi-dose vials of diclofenac to a single dose for human use.
In 2023, the govt also prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of ketoprofen and aceclofenac and their formulations for veterinary use. The govt, in the reply, stated that the over-the-counter sale of veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs without a prescription was prohibited.
The govt stated that an action plan for vulture conservation was launched by the ministry in Nov 2020. The reply stated that vultures were identified as one of the 22 species for providing funding support to the states under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme-Development of Wildlife Habitats for their conservation under the Species Recovery Programme. All nine species of vultures found in India are listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
