To


Ms. Vasundhara Raje
Hon. Chief Minister of Rajasthan
The Secretariat
Jaipur 302 005


Dear Mrs. Vasundhara,

We appreciate your intervention (in September, 2004) to order release of river water to Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, which was unfortunately thwarted by some vested interests, and request you to kindly follow up that decision to ensure that this Park of great international significance is not made to extinct for want of such water.

Your decision to conserve this Park shall be hailed by the global community, a section of whom you addressed recently during your recent visit to Davos, Switzerland, and to Britain. We are sending this SOS Appeal to strengthen your hands.

In an effort to revive the Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur, the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court held its first hearing on 31st January, 2005 following complaints of denial of water to the world famous bird sanctuary.

Fewer migratory birds are coming to the world heritage site, which used to attract large number of ornithologists from around the world, due to shortage of water. The situation was further aggravated due to the blocking of the seasonal flow of water during monsoon after the construction of the Panchana dam on the Gambhir river.

In the hearing held at New Delhi, the State government officials expressed their inability to release of water to the park from the dam because of its irrigation commitments around Karauli district. They suggested the possibility of providing water from the Chambal river through the pipeline planned to bring drinking water to Dholpur and Bharatpur districts.

The submissions made by the Rajasthan Irrigation and Public Health Engineering department on behalf of the State Government was opposed because it did not have the capacity to represent the government since the presentation before the committee does not bear the approval of the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who was abroad.

Madam, earlier you had rightly intervened to release water from Panchana dam to the park in September 2004. While vested interests have made attempts to thwart your welcome move. The capacity of the Panchana Dam is 1760 mcft. According to the original agreement, the government should release 500 mcft for the park annually.

The park is only getting 18 mcft. As a result, not even 50 per cent of the bird species were able to breed this year. The Keoladeo National Park, which attracts over 370 species of birds and hordes of tourists, is also crucial for the economy of Bharatpur.

The next hearing of the case in the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court is scheduled on February 21.

Therefore, we request you to please save the Keoladeo Ghana National Park, a UNESCO heritage site in Bharatpur, one of India's most famous bird paradise, which is now on the verge of extinction.


Yours Sincerely