PM chairs wildlife board meet, declares conservation plans

Gandhinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced the Asiatic lion population estimation exercise in May and unveiled conservation plans for tigers, gharials and a critically endangered bird while pushing for using AI to combat forest fires and human-animal conflicts.

He made a slew of announcements while chairing the seventh meeting of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), in his capacity as ex-officio chairperson, at Sasan in Gujarat's Junagadh district. The PM released the first-ever riverine dolphin estimation report in the country, which pegged the number of the aquatic mammals at 6,327.

Soon after completing his lion safari at the Gir National Park, Modi headed for the NBWL meeting. At the meet, the PM announced the initiation of a new conservation project on gharials and a National Great Indian Bustard Conservation Action Plan.