- The Supreme Court has constituted a high powered committee to urgently frame and implement an emergency response plan for the protection of Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican.
- The committee was formed on a plea which has contended that the population of the Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican has seen a sharp decline over the past few decades.
- The petitioner blamed various reasons for the threats faced by the two birds including mortality by collision with infrastructure,particularly power lines and wind turbines,depletion of grasslands and hunting.
- The Great Indian Bustard is a bustard found in India and the adjoining regions of Pakistan.It is found in Rajasthan,Gujarat,Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in India.It is also the State bird of Rajasthan.
- The bird is a critically endangered species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.It is also protected in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act,1972.
- The lesser florican (Sypheotides indicus) also known as the likh or kharmore is the smallest in bustard family.It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent.
- These bustards are found mainly in northwestern and central India during the summer but are found more widely distributed across India in winter.The bird is an endangered species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.
