Can the Great Indian Bustard reclaim the Deccan part of its range? Yes, provided traditional agriculture is promoted, says study
A study conducted by researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India assessed whether the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) could reclaim its former range across the Deccan grassland landscape, spanning parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The study found that of the roughly 720,000 sq km Deccan landscape assessed, only about 48,000 sq km (6.6%) currently qualifies as suitable habitat, and identified 16 priority conservation sites ranging from 144 to 8,496 sq km.
These priority sites were found to be dominated by fallow lands (28.6%), kharif (monsoon) cropland (24.3%), mixed-crop areas (18.8%) and natural grasslands (11.6%) — indicating the bird's continued dependence on traditional, low-intensity farming mosaics rather than intensive agriculture or pure grassland alone.
The study concludes that promoting traditional, low-intensity land-use practices in these identified areas can meaningfully improve habitat suitability and support the species' long-term survival in the Deccan.
The priority areas identified span 35 districts, concentrated in Maharashtra (22 districts), with Karnataka and Telangana (6 districts each) and Andhra Pradesh (1 district) also included.
Great Indian Bustard — Conservation Status and Legal Protection
The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) is classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, reflecting a population collapse driven primarily by habitat loss, agricultural intensification and collision with power infrastructure. It receives the highest domestic legal protection available to a species in India.
Key Details
- Listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, giving it the highest degree of protection against hunting.
- Listed in Appendix I of CITES (international trade prohibited) and in Appendix I of CMS (Convention on Migratory Species), and is one of the flagship species of India's National Bustard Recovery Plan.
- Current estimated population: roughly 100-150 individuals nationwide, with the largest surviving population in Rajasthan's Thar landscape and small residual populations (10-15 each) scattered across Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
- Deccan landscape population has collapsed sharply — from an estimated 200-390 individuals in 1989 to just 66-75 by 2008, reflecting long-term decline distinct from the Rajasthan/Thar stronghold population.
The study's focus on the Deccan sub-population addresses the more severely depleted, historically neglected portion of the GIB's range, distinct from ongoing Rajasthan/Gujarat-centred conservation efforts.
M.K. Ranjitsinh & Ors. v. Union of India — Power Lines and the Climate-Conservation Balance
This Supreme Court case addressed the threat posed to the GIB by collision with overhead high-tension power transmission lines, which studies by the Wildlife Institute of India estimate kill around 18 GIBs annually in the Thar region alone due to the bird's poor frontal vision and heavy body.
Key Details
- In April 2021, the Supreme Court ordered that all overhead power lines in identified GIB habitats in Rajasthan and Gujarat be converted to underground lines, with bird diverters installed on lines that could not immediately be undergrounded.
- In March 2024, a three-judge bench (then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, J.B. Pardiwala, Manoj Misra) modified this blanket underground-lines mandate, holding that an absolute prohibition on overhead lines was inappropriate given India's renewable energy and climate mitigation commitments, and constituted an expert committee to balance GIB conservation against solar/wind energy development in the region.
- On 19 December 2025, the Supreme Court delivered a further judgment adopting a revised framework of "Priority Areas" for GIB protection in Rajasthan and Gujarat, balancing conservation against renewable energy infrastructure siting.
While the Ranjitsinh line of cases addresses the Thar/desert population's power-line threat, the Deccan study highlights a structurally different threat — habitat and land-use change — requiring a distinct conservation strategy centred on agricultural practice rather than infrastructure siting.
Traditional Agro-Pastoral Landscapes as De Facto Grassland Habitat
Many of India's grassland-dependent species, including the GIB, the Lesser Florican and the Indian Wolf, rely not on pristine untouched grasslands but on low-intensity, traditionally managed agro-pastoral mosaics — fallow lands, rain-fed (kharif) cropland and grazing commons — that mimic natural grassland structure. India's grasslands have historically been classified as "wastelands" under revenue and forest records, leaving them without dedicated legal protection comparable to forests.
Key Details
- Grasslands lack a standalone protective legal framework analogous to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; protection is typically indirect, via Protected Area notification (National Park/Wildlife Sanctuary status) under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Desert National Park (Rajasthan) is the principal Protected Area for GIB in the Thar landscape; the Deccan landscape lacks an equivalent large, dedicated Protected Area, which is part of why land-use policy on private/community agricultural land is central to any recovery strategy there.
- Intensification of agriculture (shift from traditional fallow-kharif rotation to irrigated, multi-cropped or cash-crop systems) is a recognized driver of grassland-species decline across India, distinct from direct habitat destruction.
The study's core finding — that traditional, low-intensity farming (not protected wilderness) sustains suitable GIB habitat in the Deccan — reframes conservation policy away from exclusion-based Protected Areas and toward incentivizing traditional land-use practices on working agricultural land.
- IUCN status: Critically Endangered; Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
- Current national GIB population: approximately 100-150 individuals
- Deccan landscape population: ~200-390 (1989) to ~66-75 (2008)
- Deccan study area: ~720,000 sq km assessed; ~48,000 sq km (6.6%) found suitable
- Priority conservation sites identified: 16, ranging from 144 to 8,496 sq km, across 35 districts (22 in Maharashtra, 6 each in Karnataka and Telangana, 1 in Andhra Pradesh)
- Habitat composition of priority areas: fallow lands 28.6%, kharif crops 24.3%, mixed crops 18.8%, grasslands 11.6%
- Supreme Court power-line rulings: April 2021 (underground mandate), March 2024 (modified to allow overhead lines with safeguards), 19 December 2025 (Priority Areas framework)
- Estimated annual GIB mortality from power-line collision in Thar region: ~18 birds/year