GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1515
TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026
Protection and Rescue of Asiatic Lions in Gir Forest, Gujarat
1515. SHRI PARSHOTTAMBHAI RUPALA:
Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Central Government in coordination with the State Government of...
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1515 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2026 Protection and Rescue of Asiatic Lions in Gir Forest, Gujarat
1515. SHRI PARSHOTTAMBHAI RUPALA:
Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Central Government in coordination with the State Government of Gujarat, the Forest Department, Disaster Management Authorities and other concerned agencies, has taken concrete steps to conduct mock drills in the Gir forest area to gain field-level operational experience for the safe rescue and treatment of Asiatic lions during disasters such as forest fires and floods;
(b) whether special provisions have been made to strengthen the veterinary hospital at Sasan Gir, availability of expert wildlife veterinarians, modern equipment, ambulances and emergency medicine stockpiles; and
(c) whether an integrated, time-bound, inter-agency Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been implemented for effective disaster response? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)
(a) to (c) The protection and management of wildlife, including rescue and treatment of wild animals is primarily the responsibility of the respective State Governments and Union Territory Administrations. As informed by the State of Gujarat, the Forest Department regularly conducts training programmes, capacity-building, field based preparedness activities to enhance operational readiness for disaster response.
The Rescue Centre at Sasan-Gir has a State-of-the-art Lion Hospital with wildlife veterinarians, para-veterinary personnel for round the clock management of hospital. The hospital is equipped with modern diagnostic and treatment infrastructure, stockpiles of emergency medicines, including tranquilizers, antibiotics, supportive drugs, etc. In addition, specially designed holding and treatment cages have been developed to cater requirement of rescue and rehabilitation.
Further, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), is implemented by the Gujarat Forest Department. *****