Supreme Court strengthens protection measures for Great Indian Bustard

The Supreme Court of India on 19 December 2025 approved a series of stringent measures to protect the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) from threats posed by power transmission lines, reiterating that conservation of the species is “non-negotiable”.

The Court finalised priority conservation areas covering 14,013 sq km in Rajasthan and 740 sq km in Gujarat. Within these zones, it prohibited the installation of new wind turbines, barred solar parks above 2 MW, and disallowed expansion of existing renewable energy projects.

The ruling came while hearing petitions by the Centre and power companies seeking modification of the Court’s 2021 interim order that had mandated undergrounding of all power lines across nearly 99,000 sq km of bustard habitat.

Key directions include:

• Immediate undergrounding of 80 km of 33 kV power lines in Rajasthan.
• Rerouting or insulation of remaining lines in priority areas within two years.
• Shifting of nine 66 kV and higher-voltage lines, including those aligned with the Green Energy Corridor, away from GIB habitats.

About Great Indian Bustard (Godawan)

The Great Indian Bustard (Godawan), the state bird of Rajasthan, is one of the world’s heaviest flying birds and a flagship species of India’s arid and semi-arid grasslands. About 150 individuals remain, with 95% of the global population found in Rajasthan. Slow breeding, ground nesting and frequent collisions with power lines have pushed the species to the brink of extinction.

The GIB is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Appendix I of CITES, the CMS Convention, and is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is also part of the Union government’s species recovery programme under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme.