Environment Minister opens a soft release centre for Great Indian Bustards in Kutch
Kutch's bustards lay infertile eggs. Can egg swaps, fenced grassland and buried power lines save them?
Published 14 September 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work
On 14 September 2026, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav visited the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) habitat at Naliya in Gujarat's Kutch district with Gujarat Forest Minister Arjun Modhwadia, and inaugurated a Soft Release Centre for GIBs during the visit. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) release says the centre is meant for the "conservation, monitoring and gradual adaptation of GIBs to the natural environment". A soft release means birds are held for a period in an enclosure inside their natural habitat before being set free, so that they can adjust. The release lists the work done so far: about 11 sq km of grassland degraded by the invasive tree Prosopis juliflora has been restored, and about 30 km of predator-proof fencing now encloses around 15 sq km. Under a 'jump-start' approach, infertile eggs laid in the wild are replaced with viable ones, and the chick from the second such attempt has survived beyond its critical first three months in the wild. At a review in Bhuj, the Minister also released a Gujarat Action Plan for GIB conservation.
The visit covered other forest work in Kutch. The Minister flagged off 33 new patrol and rescue vehicles for the Kutch Forest Circle and inaugurated a 'Van Kavach' plantation at Sayara, raised by the Miyawaki method (dense planting of native species) with over 10,000 plants of 47 local species. At Jakhau he planted mangroves; the nursery there has raised about 3.49 lakh seedlings. On MISHTI, the Centre's mangrove plantation programme, the release reports 27,652 hectares planted against a target of 29,250 hectares for 2023-24 to 2026-27, including 12,450 hectares in the Kori Creek area.
The GIB (Ardeotis nigriceps) has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2011, with about 150 birds estimated in 2018, most in Rajasthan's Thar desert and a small group in Kutch. Its biggest threat is collision with overhead power lines, which have multiplied with wind and solar projects in its range. In M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India, the Supreme Court in April 2021 restricted overhead transmission lines across about 99,000 sq km and ordered undergrounding where feasible; in March 2024 it found no basis for a blanket ban and set up an expert committee. Its judgment of 19 December 2025 revised the priority areas to 14,013 sq km in Rajasthan and 740 sq km in Gujarat, ordered critical lines to be buried or rerouted within two years and barred all new wind turbines, and new solar plants above 2 MW, there. The case turns on balancing one species against the climate benefits of renewable energy.
Prelims facts
- The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) has been Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2011; about 150 birds were estimated in 2018.
- On 14 September 2026 a Soft Release Centre for GIBs was inaugurated in Kutch, Gujarat, during the Environment Minister's visit to the GIB habitat at Naliya.
- Under the 'jump-start' approach in Kutch, infertile eggs laid in the wild are replaced with viable eggs.
- The Supreme Court's judgment of 19 December 2025 in M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India fixed GIB priority areas of 14,013 sq km in Rajasthan and 740 sq km in Gujarat.
- The same judgment ordered critical power lines in priority areas to be buried or rerouted within two years.
Quick recall
- Scientific name of the Great Indian Bustard?
- Ardeotis nigriceps.
- IUCN status of the Great Indian Bustard, and since when?
- Critically Endangered, since 2011.
- Roughly how many GIBs were estimated in 2018?
- About 150.
- Where was a Soft Release Centre for GIBs inaugurated on 14 September 2026?
- In Kutch district, Gujarat, during the Minister's visit to the GIB habitat at Naliya.
- What is the 'jump-start' approach used in Kutch?
- Replacing infertile eggs laid in the wild with viable eggs so that chicks hatch and grow up in the wild.
- Which invasive species degraded the Kutch grasslands now being restored?
- Prosopis juliflora.
- GIB priority areas fixed by the Supreme Court on 19 December 2025?
- 14,013 sq km in Rajasthan and 740 sq km in Gujarat.
- Which Supreme Court case governs power lines in GIB habitat?
- M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India.
Prelims practice question
With reference to the Great Indian Bustard, consider the following statements:
1. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
2. Its natural habitat includes Desert National Park in Rajasthan.
3. It is found only in Rajasthan.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only. Statement 1 is correct: the GIB has been Critically Endangered since 2011. Statement 2 is correct: Desert National Park near Jaisalmer is a key habitat. Statement 3 is wrong: a small population survives in Kutch, Gujarat, where a soft release centre opened on 14 September 2026.
Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions
Recurring theme: Endangered species, protected areas and the conflict between renewable energy infrastructure and biodiversity
- How to use this
The M.K. Ranjitsinh litigation shows a petition reshaping where transmission lines and renewable projects can be built, a strong example of outside pressure changing project outcomes.
- In M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India, the Supreme Court in April 2021 restricted overhead transmission lines across about 99,000 sq km and ordered undergrounding where feasible.
- In March 2024 the Court found no basis for a blanket ban, since renewable energy also serves the environment, and set up an expert committee.
- Its 19 December 2025 judgment fixed priority areas of 14,013 sq km (Rajasthan) and 740 sq km (Gujarat), ordered critical lines buried or rerouted within two years and barred new wind turbines there.
Desert National Park in Rajasthan is the GIB's main stronghold, while Kutch holds the small Gujarat population now getting a soft release centre.
Mains practice question
Overhead power lines have become the biggest threat to the Great Indian Bustard even as India expands renewable energy in its habitat. Examine how the Supreme Court has tried to balance the two, and suggest steps for the species' recovery. (250 words)
Model answer
The Great Indian Bustard (GIB), Critically Endangered since 2011 with about 150 birds estimated in 2018, lives in the same dry grasslands of Rajasthan and Gujarat where wind and solar projects are expanding. Collisions with overhead lines are its main threat.
How the Supreme Court has balanced the two
- April 2021: in M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India, restricted overhead transmission lines across about 99,000 sq km and ordered undergrounding where feasible.
- March 2024: found no basis for a blanket ban, since renewable energy also serves the environment; set up an expert committee.
- 19 December 2025: fixed priority areas of 14,013 sq km (Rajasthan) and 740 sq km (Gujarat), ordered critical lines buried or rerouted within two years, and barred all new wind turbines, and new solar plants above 2 MW, in these areas.
Recovery on the ground
- Habitat: about 11 sq km of Kutch grassland cleared of invasive Prosopis juliflora; about 15 sq km under predator-proof fencing.
- Breeding: 'jump-start' egg replacement in Kutch; conservation breeding centres in Rajasthan.
- Release: a Soft Release Centre in Kutch (14 September 2026); a Gujarat Action Plan for GIB conservation.
Way forward
- Complete undergrounding or rerouting of critical lines on time.
- Treat grasslands as ecosystems worth protecting, not as wasteland for projects.
- Involve local communities in habitat protection and monitoring.
- Monitor released birds and publish population estimates regularly.
The GIB's survival will show whether India can pursue clean energy without losing the species of the landscapes it builds on.
The basics
Why this matters
The Great Indian Bustard is a large grassland bird and one of India's most endangered species. Its story joins three exam themes: species recovery, the value of grasslands, and the clash between renewable energy and wildlife. The Kutch visit of 14 September 2026 shows what recovery looks like on the ground.
A bird of open grasslands
The GIB lives in dry, open grasslands and scrub, the kind of land that is easily converted to farms or projects. Its range once covered much of western and central India; today most birds are in Rajasthan's Thar desert, with a small group in Kutch.
Why power lines kill bustards
Bustards flying across open country collide with overhead wires, and collision with power lines is listed among the main threats to the species. Wind and solar farms in the Thar and Kutch have brought many new transmission lines. That is why the M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India case has focused on burying or rerouting lines.
What Kutch is doing
Gujarat's birds are very few, and eggs laid in the wild there have been infertile. So the state is combining several tools, described in Soft release and jump-start.
- 1Grassland restorationAbout 11 sq km cleared of invasive Prosopis juliflora
- 2Predator-proof fencingAbout 30 km of fence enclosing around 15 sq km
- 3Jump-startInfertile wild eggs replaced with viable eggs; a chick survived beyond three months
- 4Soft Release Centre, KutchBirds adapt inside their habitat before release
- 5Protection33 new patrol and rescue vehicles for the Kutch Forest Circle
- 2011IUCN lists the GIB as Critically Endangered
- April 2021Supreme Court restricts overhead lines across about 99,000 sq km
- March 2024Court finds no basis for a blanket ban and sets up an expert committee
- 19 December 2025Court fixes priority areas and a two-year deadline for critical lines
- 14 September 2026Soft Release Centre inaugurated in Kutch
The takeaway
Saving the GIB needs habitat, breeding help and safer skies at the same time. None of the three works alone.
Go deeper
In one line: On 14 September 2026 the Union Environment Minister opened a Soft Release Centre for Great Indian Bustards in Kutch, where grassland restoration, fencing and egg replacement are being used to rebuild a tiny population.
Why it matters for UPSC
Endangered species, protected areas and the renewable energy versus wildlife debate are regular in Prelims (GS environment) and in GS3 Mains. The GIB case also shows the Supreme Court shaping environmental policy.
The core idea
The Great Indian Bustard is a heavy grassland bird whose numbers have collapsed. In Kutch, officials are clearing invasive trees, fencing out predators and using the Soft release and jump-start methods to help birds breed and settle. The larger threat, power lines, is being handled through the Supreme Court in M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India.
Numbers and dates to remember
- Critically Endangered since 2011; about 150 birds (2018 estimate).
- 11 sq km grassland restored; about 15 sq km fenced; 33 patrol vehicles.
- Priority areas (December 2025): 14,013 sq km Rajasthan, 740 sq km Gujarat.
- Two-year deadline to bury or reroute critical lines; no new wind turbines, and no new solar plants above 2 MW, in priority areas.
- 14 September 2026: Soft Release Centre inaugurated in Kutch.
Where to go next
- Great Indian Bustard: the species, its range and why it is declining
- M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India: how the Supreme Court handled power lines
- Soft release and jump-start: the two recovery methods used in Kutch
Go deeper: one bird against the energy transition
The conservation argument. The Great Indian Bustard has no margin left. With about 150 birds estimated in 2018, every adult killed on a power line matters. Conservationists argued in M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India that overhead lines in core habitat must go underground, whatever the cost, and the Court's April 2021 order across about 99,000 sq km reflected that view.
The energy argument. The same drylands host large solar and wind projects, and transmission lines carry clean power that cuts emissions. In March 2024 the Court accepted that a blanket ban across such a large area had no basis and that conserving the GIB and protecting the environment as a whole were both crucial goals. It handed the detail to an expert committee including the Wildlife Institute of India and power sector bodies.
The compromise of December 2025. The Court narrowed the focus to priority areas (14,013 sq km in Rajasthan and 740 sq km in Gujarat), set a two-year deadline to bury or reroute critical lines there, and barred all new wind turbines, and new solar plants above 2 MW, inside them. It also asked for habitat restoration and predator management, which is what the Kutch work of 2026 delivers.
What remains hard. Kutch's birds are so few that wild eggs have been infertile; the Soft release and jump-start methods are emergency measures. Grasslands also need to be valued as ecosystems, not treated as empty land. The test is whether numbers rise in the next census.
Great Indian Bustard
The species, its range and why it is declining
In one line: The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is a large grassland bird, Critically Endangered since 2011, now surviving mainly in Rajasthan with a small group in Gujarat's Kutch.
Range and numbers
Its range once included Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Estimates fell from under 250 birds in 2008 to about 150 in 2018. Key habitats are the Desert National Park near Jaisalmer and the Kutch Bustard Sanctuary at Naliya.
Why it is declining
Threats include hunting in the past, loss of grassland to farming and irrigation, and collisions with roads and power lines. Renewable energy projects have added many new lines in its range. Rajasthan started Project Great Indian Bustard in 2013, and conservation breeding centres at Sam and Ramdevra have hatched chicks in captivity.
Why it is in the news
A Soft Release Centre for GIBs opened in Kutch on 14 September 2026.
Where to go next
M.K. Ranjitsinh v Union of India
How the Supreme Court handled power lines
In one line: A long-running Supreme Court case in which the Court has set rules for power lines and renewable projects in Great Indian Bustard habitat.
The three stages
- April 2021: an interim order restricted overhead transmission lines across about 99,000 sq km, required bird flight diverters on existing lines in priority and potential areas, and ordered conversion to underground cables within a year where feasible.
- March 2024: the Court found no basis for a general prohibition across that area, saying conservation of the GIB and conservation of the environment as a whole had to be balanced. It set up a nine-member expert committee.
- 19 December 2025: a bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and A.S. Chandurkar fixed priority areas of 14,013 sq km in Rajasthan and 740 sq km in Gujarat, ordered critical lines there to be buried or rerouted within two years, and barred all new wind turbines, and new solar plants above 2 MW.
Why it matters
It is a leading example of courts balancing biodiversity against climate goals.
Where to go next
Soft release and jump-start
The two recovery methods used in Kutch
In one line: Soft release and jump-start are two ways of helping a very small wild population: one eases birds into the wild, the other gets wild parents to raise viable chicks.
Soft release
In a soft release, animals are kept for a time in an enclosure inside their natural habitat, fed and monitored, before the gates are opened. This lowers the shock of release and the risk that they wander off or die. The centre inaugurated in Kutch on 14 September 2026 is meant for the 'conservation, monitoring and gradual adaptation of GIBs to the natural environment'.
Jump-start
Kutch's few wild birds have laid infertile eggs. Under the jump-start approach, such eggs are replaced with viable ones, so that chicks hatch in the wild. The PIB release says the chick from the second such attempt survived beyond its critical first three months in the wild.
Supporting work
Both methods depend on safe habitat: about 11 sq km of restored grassland and predator-proof fencing around 15 sq km.
Where to go next
Take the 14 September 2026 quiz: 30 Prelims-style questions with answers