CHEETAHS RELOCATION - ENVIRONMENT
News: Supreme Court asks Centre to relocate Cheetahs to Rajasthan
What is in the news?
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Recently, expressing
concern over the death of three cheetahs in Kuno, Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme
Court asked the Centre to rise above politics and consider shifting a few to
Rajasthan.
Key takeaways from the news:
Rajasthan's request to run Cheetah project:
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Soon after India inked
the cheetah MoU with Namibia, the Rajasthan Forest Department on August 8 wrote
to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), entrusted by the SC in
2020 to run the Cheetah Project, proposing to host a few cheetahs in Mukundra.
And the Centre rejected it.
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MK
Ranjitsinh, head of the committee appointed by the SC to monitor the Cheetah
Project, said he could not think of a reason why
the ministry was not exercising the Mukundra option.
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The Mukundra Hills was
declared a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1955
and a National Park (Mukundra Hills (Darrah) National Park) in 2004 and
declared a tiger reserve in 2013.
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Mukundra Tiger Reserve,
popularly known as Darrah Wildlife
Sanctuary.
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It is spread across 4
districts – Bundi, Kota, Jhalawar &
Chittorgarh.
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It is the 3rd tiger reserve in Rajasthan, after
Ranthambore & Sariska Tiger Reserves.
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This tiger reserve was
once a hunting preserve belonging to the Maharaja of Kota.
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Rivers:
○ The
4 rivers (Ramzan, Ahu, Kali and Chambal) form the boundary of the valley.
○ It
is located on the eastern bank of the Chambal
River and is drained by its tributaries.