Sharing a photograph of then Union minister for forest and environment Jairam Ramesh, the Congress said he had gone to the Cheetah Outreach Centre in Africa for the project.
New Delhi: A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to release eight cheetahs brought from Namibia, the Congress on Friday said the proposal for ‘Project Cheetah’ was prepared during the Manmohan Singh-led Congress government in 2008-09.
Sharing a photograph of then Union minister for forest and environment Jairam Ramesh, the Congress said he had gone to the Cheetah Outreach Centre in Africa for the project.
However, the party said the Supreme Court struck down the project in 2013 and the ban was lifted in 2020.
The Grand Old Party added that it is because of the efforts made by Congress around 14 years ago that the cheetahs would now arrive in India.
Also Read: Cheetahs to return to India; here’s all that you need to know
Almost 70 years after Cheetahs went extinct in India, the country is all set to reintroduce the big cat on September 17. As many as eight cheetahs, five females and three males, will soon walk on Indian land after being brought from Namibia as a part of a special arrangement.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the cheetahs in the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. The day coincides with Modi’s birthday. According to reports, on Thursday, a modified passenger B747 Jumbo Jet, painted with the face of a tiger, landed in Namibia’s capital of Windhoek and will soon ferry the big cats.
Sharing a small video on Twitter, Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav wrote, “Just 1 Day to go…The fastest sprinter on Earth 🐆will make a return to India tomorrow after 70 long years. #Cheetahs are coming…”
