Congress has claimed that the proposal for 'Project Cheetah' was prepared in 2008-09 and it was approved by the then Manmohan Singh-led UPA government. The party tweeted on Friday, saying that in 2013, the Supreme Court had stayed the project, and in 2020, that the apex court allowed it, paving the way for the cheetahs to come to India.
"The proposal for 'Project Cheetah' was prepared in 2008-09. Manmohan Singh's government gave approval to it. The then Forest and Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, went to Cheetah outreach centre in South Africa in April 2010," the Congress said in a tweet. It also tweeted a picture of Ramesh at the Cheetah Outreach Centre in South Africa in 2010.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs brought from Namibia in Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park on Saturday, In 2013, the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the Cheetah Reintroduction Programme and in 2020 allowed it, the party said, adding that now the cheetahs are coming.
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In a tweet, Ramesh shared an article he had written in a daily a few weeks ago that gave a history of why and how today's event of the cheetah's arriving in India was made possible. In his piece, Ramesh had also talked about his visit to the Cheetah Outreach Centre in Cape Town and the efforts under the programme back then.
Cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. The cheetahs that would be released are from Namibia and have been brought under an MoU signed earlier this year. The release of the wild cheetahs by the prime minister in Kuno National Park is part of his efforts to revitalise and diversify India's wildlife and its habitat, the statement said.
