Committee Seeks SC Directions For Expediting Underground Laying Of Transmission Lines.

• A committee constituted by the Supreme Court on saving the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) has urged the apex court to pass directions for expediting the underground laying of power transmission lines in priority and potential GIB habitats in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• SC had constituted a 3- member committee to determine technical feasibility of future underground power lines.
• Committee recommended to install bird diverters which are flaps installed on power lines that work like reflectors and are visible to flying birds from about 50 metres away.
• In 2021, SC directed the power companies that all low-voltage power lines in areas demarcated as “priority and potential habitats of GIB” in Thar and Kutch deserts of Rajasthan and Gujarat should be underground.
  • “Priority zones” are areas where birds are known to live and “potential regions” are those where conservation programmes, such as breeding birds in captivity, are ongoing.
• However, state governments have not taken steps to comply with SC order as shifting overhead lines underground is expensive and impractical, and would hike the cost of solar power, undermining India’s commitment to green growth.

About Great Indian Bustard

• Habitat: Endemic to Indian Sub-continent (Rajasthan has highest population). Arid and semi-arid grasslands, open country with thorn scrub, tall grass interspersed with cultivation.
• IUCN Status: Critically Endangered.
• Protection: Listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Appendix I of CITES.
• Threats to GIB: Hunting, habitat erosion, ‘greening’ projects that transform arid grasslands to wooded areas, etc.