PM Modi to tour Gir today, will chair NBWL meeting

Gandhinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) at Sasan in Junagadh on Monday after taking a tour of the Gir sanctuary. March 3 is observed as World Wildlife Day.
The NBWL has 47 members, including the Chief of Army Staff, members from different states, representatives from NGOs working in this field, chief wildlife wardens and secretaries from various states. Sources in the govt said that after the meeting, the PM is scheduled to interact with women forest staffers at Sasan.
An official statement said that the 2025 theme of World Wildlife Day is ‘Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet.' Currently, there are approximately 30,000 square kilometres of lion habitat across 53 talukas in nine districts of Gujarat. The statement added that as part of a central govt project, a National Referral Centre for Wildlife Health is being established on over 20.24 hectares of land at New Pipaliya in Junagadh district. In addition, a high-tech monitoring centre and a state-of-the-art hospital for wildlife tracking have been constructed in Sasan.
Welcoming the PM to Gir sanctuary, Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani posted on X, "The lion of the nation, and proud son of Gujarat, PM Modi, is visiting the land of the Asiatic lions. His visit to Sasan Gir will strengthen wildlife conservation efforts on #WorldWildlifeDay. His vision continues to shape a sustainable future for India's wildlife." He added, "PM Modi had previously made key announcements on World Lion Day and his visit is expected to bring further initiatives and new developments."
The govt said that in 2024, 237 beat guards (162 men and 75 women) were recruited in Gir to patrol protected areas and safeguard lion habitats. The ‘Gir Samvad Setu' programme is conducted to address minor issues of local people in Gir, with 300 such programmes organised so far. An SOP with the railways has been formulated to prevent potential accidents due to lion crossings on railway lines in the Greater Gir area, the statement added.
The govt statement said that after the lion poaching incident in 2007, Gujarat govt established the Greater Gir Wildlife Protection Task Force Division in Junagadh to monitor wildlife crimes, gather intelligence and strengthen the protection of Asiatic lions and other wildlife in the lion habitat.
It was under the leadership of Narendra Modi as Gujarat CM that women beat guards and foresters were recruited for the first time in Gir. Today, about 111 women employees are working in Gir.
The development of eco-tourism in Gir has not only contributed to wildlife conservation but also brought positive changes to the lives of thousands of locals, promoting sustainable development in the area. The statement said that in the last five years, a total of 33,15,637 tourists visited the Gir protected area.
Meanwhile, the Congress said on Sunday that while crores of rupees are being spent on lion conservation, the state govt has been permitting haphazard construction and mining activities in the Asiatic lion habitat. Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, "On average, 110 lions die every year in the Gir sanctuary and 555 lions have died in the past five years."