The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the Centre to examine a petition raising concerns over the decline in vulture population allegedly on account of the use of certain veterinary drugs, and asked it take measures to save the birds that are an important link in the food chain.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi issued notice to the Centre, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, the National Biodiversity Authority, the Indian Veterinary Research Institute as well as the Bombay Natural History Society on the public interest litigation by lawyer Gaurav Kumar Bansal and sought their response.
It said, “We direct respondent 1-3 (Centre) to examine the aspect raised by the petitioner in the petition and take whatever measures that are called for to save vultures which are an important link in the food chain and are essential for maintaining the environment. Response be filed in four weeks.”
The petitioner sought the protection and conservation of vultures and claimed that there are certain veterinary drugs in the market which are harmful and toxic to these birds and yet no serious efforts have been made by the authorities till date to ban them.
A survey was conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society (Member of National Vulture Recovery Committee, Government of India) in the whole country in 90s and then in 2000 in which the picture showed that the population of Oriental White Backed Vulture and Long Billed Vultures had declined by more than 92 percent in this period.
The petition also emphasised that losing vultures could be catastrophic to any ecosystem and that the birds are significant to Hindu as well as Zoroastrian religions.
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