Congress Alleges Credit for ‘Project Cheetah’, Says UPA Govt Greenlit Plan Prepared in 2008-09
The Congress also tweeted a picture of Ramesh at the Cheetah Outreach Centre in South Africa in 2010 and claimed the Supreme Court had stayed the Cheetah Reintroduction Programme in 2013 and the apex court allowed it in 2020, paving way for ‘Project Cheetah’
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had s discussion on the inauguration of the inter-continental cheetah translocation project in Madhya Pradesh. However, the opposition party, Congress claimed the proposal for ‘Project Cheetah’ was approved by the then Manmohan Singh-led UPA government in 2008-09.
“The proposal for ‘Project Cheetah’ was prepared in 2008-09. Manmohan Singh’s government approved it. The then Forest and Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, went to Cheetah outreach centre in South Africa in April 2010,” the Congress said in a tweet with a picture of the senior party leader holding a cheetah.
Congress says that Supreme Court had kept up the Cheetah Reintroduction Programme in 2013 and the apex court allowed it in 2020, paving way for the carnivore translocation project ‘Project Cheetah’.
Previously, Ramesh shared an article on his own Twitter. The article meanwhile gave a history of why and how today’s event of the cheetah’s arrival in India was made possible. He also wrote about his visit to the Cheetah Outreach Centre in Cape Town and the efforts under the program back then.
He captioned the post, as the cheetahs arrive today at Kuno National Park from Namibia, sharing an article I had written in the Economic Times of July 30th that gives the history of why and how today’s event was made possible.
Notably, to boost the nation’s economy, Modi is all set to release eight cheetahs — five females and three males. They are brought from Namibia at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on his birthday on September 17 at around 10:45 AM.
It is to be noted that the cheetah is the only large carnivore that was entirely erased due to its use for rushing, sport hunting, overhunting, and habitat loss. Previously, in 1952 the then-led government declared the animal extinct.
Therefore, now the cheetahs would be released from Namibia. They were brought under an MoU signed earlier this year. “The release of the wild cheetahs by the prime minister in Kuno National Park is part of his efforts to revitalize and diversify India’s wildlife and its habitat,” a statement by the PMO said.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav greeted and said India is unlocking an ecological wrong by bringing back the cheetah which became vanished in the nation due to overhunting.
