Union Environment Minister visits Great Indian Bustard Habitat in Kachchh

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, today visited the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) habitat at Naliya in Kachchh district of Gujarat.

He reviewed the ongoing efforts for providing maximum protection to the GIB, with special focus on comprehensive conservation and habitat-management measures being undertaken across the GIB landscape of Kachchh.

The Minister was accompanied by Shri Arjun Modhwadia, Cabinet Minister for Forest and Environment, Climate Change and Science & Technology (Gujarat). Senior officials of the MoEFCC, the Gujarat Forest Department, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Border Security Force (BSF), along with local community members and beneficiaries of afforestation, plantation and coastal livelihood initiatives across Kachchh were also present.

As part of the visit, Shri Yadav inaugurated the Soft Release Centre for the Great Indian Bustard at the facility, and interacted with officials of the Wildlife Institute of India, the Gujarat Forest Department and other stakeholders engaged in the species’ conservation. He subsequently held a detailed interaction with public representatives at a ‘Khatala Sabha’, seeking their continued support in taking the species’ conservation initiatives forward. (UPDATED ON 14TH SEPT 2026