The Gujarat government's move to relocate a majorly endangered species of crocodiles from two ponds near the Statue of Unity—the world's tallest statue—has invited wrath from environmentalists with one group even serving a legal notice.
The mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) is a species protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. A Schedule I animal means that it is highly endangered. Sources said that the reptiles have been removed to make way for seaplane to land in the water.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 182-feet tall statue last year, the government has started a chopper service in the area to give an aerial view of the structure. The possibilities of seaplanes were also talked about when Modi took off from Sabarmati River Front ahead of the 2017 assembly elections in Gujarat.
No figures are available about the total number of crocodiles in the ponds and the number of reptiles that were shifted in the last 15 days.
Talking to THE WEEK, Rohit Prajapati of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, who has served a legal notice to the state government, wondered how the numbers will be available when there is no census.
The state government has also not officially announced as to where the crocodiles have been relocated to. There is a possibility that the crocodiles have been released in the reservoir of the Sardar Sarovar Dam or Ajwa Reservoir, near Vadodara. Forest minister Ganpat Vasava could not be contacted.
Dr Jitendra Gavali, director of the Community Science Centre in Vadodara, asked as to whose permission the state authorities took before shifting the crocodiles. He also raised the possibility of crocodile mortality due to infighting at the places where they have been released.
Mentioning that the crocodiles do not attack humans without any reason, Dr Gavali said that if there was a need to clear away the reptiles, the state government could dig a canal at the site as a lot of space is available in the area. Humans and crocodiles have lived together from time immemorial, he observed.
Prajapati said that the shifting of crocodiles was in violation of various Acts, including the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010.
“We have sent a legal notice to the state government,” Prajapati claimed, adding that if the government failed to comply with scientific guidelines and reconsider the translocation activities, it would have to face further action.
