ORDER

1. The issue raised in this application is the protection of Great Indian Busterd (GIB) spreading in the districts of Jaisalmer and Barmer which was notified as Desert National Park Sanctuary in the year 1980 with an objective of conservation of unique biological diversity of this desert ecosystem along with various ecological processes, aesthetic beauty and cultural heritage of this desert ecosystem. Among faunal components, Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is the flagship species with its population ranging from 35 to 40 and mainly concentrated in the Sudashri landscape area of DNP Sanctuary, which is the northern part of the sanctuary. There is another satellite called Naath ji ka tanka- Ramdeora Closure having a population of 5 to 10 individuals. Houbara bustard (Chlamydotis undulate), locally called Tilor is a migratory bustard and is well known to winter in DNP Sanctuary. State animal, The Indian Gazelle or Chinkara can be seen galloping in the golden sand dunes of the area or feeding in close proximity to GIB. Desert Fox, Indian Fox, Desert cat are the major carnivores in the area and do play an important role in food webs and various ecological processes. Other mammals include Indian hare, Hedge hogs and many others. Indian Monitor, Desert Monitor, Spiny-tailed Lizard, Sand Lizards and many snakes are the representatives of the reptiles of the area. So far more than 200 bird species have been reported from this landscape. Apart from flag ship species described above DNP Sanctuary is well known for a number of birds of prey including Steppe Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Short-toed Snake Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Laggar Falcon, Common Kestrel, Red-headed Vulture, Cinereous Vulture, Egyptian vulture. Hundreds of sand grouses, Grey Francolins, Larks can be seen in the area. Since then many species were increased in the area including many new flora and fauna.

2. The Thar Desert in north-western India is a unique and the only habitat of its type in the Indian subcontinent. The Aravalli hills mark the eastern-most boundary limit of the Thar desert while the western limit is defined by the fertile plains of the Indus. The Great Rann of Kutch forms a sharp boundary in the south while its northern limits are formed by the riparian sub-Himalayan plains. The Desert National Park (DNP) covers an area of 3162 km, of which 1900 km, is in Jaisalmer district and remaining 1262 km, is in Barmer district of Rajasthan State. The area falls in the extreme hot and arid region of very low rainfall zone (<100mm) of the country. DNP was gazetted in the year 1980. Across the landscape of Jaisalmer, altitudes are low, ranging from 210- 300m (320m) above mean sea level (Govt. of Indian, 1994).

Kar (1989) classified the landforms in Jaisalmer into eleven terrain categories; the predominant forms being sand dunes (44.8% of the area), and flat buried pediments/pavements/structural plains (28.4%). More ecologically relevant is the classification of natural desert habitats into sandy, gravelly, and rocky (Prakash 1962). Sandy areas dominate the western parts of Jaisalmer district, while gravelly and rocky areas are scattered throughout central, southern and eastern areas. The DNP is barren with several sand dunes and a few hills in the north-western region. The park forms a vast sandy and undulating terrain. From Khuri to Sam, the topography is gravel, rocky with a few isolated ridges (Kalra et al. 2O06). lnterdune (caused by wind) and sandy plains are other topographic features (Kalra et al. 2006). The vegetation of major part of the arid region of the Thar falls under thorn forest type (Champion and Seth 1969). Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) is commonly found, which is revered and protected by the local communities specially the “Bishnois”. The vegetation of DNP is quite sparse with open grassland, throny bushes, plantation and dunes as the broad habitat types. One-sixty eight plant species belonging to 48 families have been reported from this are