Union Environment Ministry has set up Cheetah Task force headed by Alok Kumar

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The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has constituted a 9 member task force on 7 October 2022 to monitor cheetah introduction in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. It will be headed by Alok Kumar, Retd. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) & Chief Wildlife Warden, Madhya Pradesh,

 According to the ministry the task force has been constituted for a period of 2 years and will “review, progress and monitor the health status of Cheetah, upkeep of the quarantine & soft release enclosures, protection status of entire area, adherence to the defined protocols by forest & veterinary officials and advice on Cheetah introduction in India to the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department and NTCA on status of Cheetah with respect to overall health, behaviour and their upkeep.”

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) would facilitate the working of the Cheetah Task Force and render all necessary help.

On 17 September 2022 the Prime Minister Narendra Modi released 8 wild cheetahs of Namibia in the Kuno National Park in an ambitious effort to repopulate the Indian wildlife with cheetahs. Cheetah was officially declared extinct in India in 1952.

Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change: Bhupendra Yadav