New Delhi: The Allahabad High Court today admitted a writ petition that seeks to stop the Uttar Pradesh State Government from draining the wetlands in the districts of Etawah and Mainpuri, which provide shelter to the world’s largest concentration of Sarus Cranes.A division bench of Chief Justice S K Sen and Justice R K Agrawal heard the petition filed by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), and directed the Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, to submit a status report on the draining of the Sarus Crane’s habitat in these two districts, within two weeks.

The court also issued notices to Union Ministry of Agriculture, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, UP Ministry of Irrigation and UP Ministry of Agriculture. The court patiently heard the WTI counsel, Mr. Sudhir Mishra and expressed concern over the gravity of the Sarus Crane’s situation.

Mr. Aniruddha Mookerjee, Director (Programmes) WTI, who filed the petition on behalf of the organization, said that the situation in these two districts was grim, as work on the wetland conversion projects had already begun in some areas.

The petition pointed out that the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWC) of Uttar Pradesh had visited these sites in Etawah and Mainpuri. After assessing the ground situation, the CWC wrote to the administration and the Districts Magistrates who immediately issued orders against drainage. The respective District Magistrates of Mainpuri and Etawah also stopped the issuance of pattas in these wetlands on the grounds that they are important Sarus habitats, despite which the work was carrying on.

It was also pointed out that the construction of a culvert at Kudaiyya in Mainpuri has resulted in the draining of one of the wetlands and has resulted in the decline of the resident Sarus population from over 200 to 22 only.

Mr. Mookerjee told the court that any further draining of water from the wetland will render the flocks homeless and force them to look for roosting sites in the nearby crop field where they can wreak havoc, leading to conflict situations that have historically never existed between man and this revered bird. “Since this is the only known site of its size and quality in the country, it is beyond doubt that it is irreplaceable and we can not develop any alternative site,” Mr. Mookerjee said.

There are five main wetlands in these two districts, which need immediate protection for the survival of Sarus Crane: Sarsai Nawar, Gaad, Sauj, Ambarpur and Kudaiyya.

The most important habitat is Sarsai Nawar, which is in Etawah district and has the largest population of this threatened species of Sarus Crane. Ten Sarus Crane pairs breed regularly in this wetland which is more than twice the number of breeding pairs in Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Rajasthan the best known for bird in the country. In winters, more than 40,000 migratory birds use Sarsai Nawar wetland.

The second major wetland is Gaad, in Mainpuri. This wetland has a yearlong congregation of over 300 Sarus Cranes that feed on specific tubers of aquatic plants that abound in these wetlands. The third crucial wetland is Sauj Lake, also in Mainpuri, home to 4,000 Great white pelicans in winter.

The last crucial wetlands are Ambarpur, which has nearly 450 Sarus Cranes, and Kudaiyya.

The petition has sought that these five crucial wetlands be declared as `protected’ as per the definition of the Wildlife Protection Act.1972.

It was also pointed out to the court that sensing the alarming situation, the Bombay Natural History Society (BHNS) Director, Mr. Asad R. Rahmani, had written letters to the Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Raj Nath Singh and to the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, requested them to conserve the wetlands in these two districts.

“The Ministry of Environment and Forests has estimated that India has about 4.1 million hectares of wetlands (excluding paddy fields and mangroves) of which 1.5 million hectares are natural and 2.6 million hectares man-made,” Mr Mookerjee said.

Some facts about the Sarus Crane:

• The Sarus Crane (Grus antigone antigone) is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh.

   

• Sarus Cranes have long been associated with Hindu mythology, with verses describing their ritualistic pair bonding appearing in the Ramayana.

   

• They are part of a group of birds technically called Gruidae and are adapted to living in wetlands and marshlands.

   

• The Sarus holds the distinction of being the tallest flying bird in the world.

   

• Of the three subspecies of the Sarus found in the world, the Indian subspecies is the largest and the biggest population is India’s responsibility.

   

• Uttar Pradesh has the largest population and concentration of Sarus Cranes in the entire world.

   

• Nearly 15-20% of the world’s population of the Indian Sarus Cranes has made Etawah and Mainpuri their permanent home.

   

• Breeding pairs hold permanent territories that they protect fiercely from other pairs. Pairs build an untidy nest using aquatic plants, which they pile up haphazardly. One or two eggs are laid, and after about a month of incubation, during which both adults take turns to sit on the eggs, the chicks hatch.

   

• After the young hatchlings leave their parents’ nests, they herd together in large congregations where they select their mates.

   

• Wetlands are coveted sites for the congregations where the young cranes dance, sing, eat and form pair bonds.

   

• The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), an apex world body that classifies species with respect to their status, has classified the Sarus Crane as globally threatened.