Why is number of ship of desert camel steadily declining in desert state of Rajasthan? What did govt tell High Court during hearing?
Camel is known as the Ship of Desert and is an identity of the desert state of Rajasthan. But do you know the number of this animal is steadily declining in Rajasthan? The camel number has steadily declined in the past decade.
In 2015, the government passed a law declaring the camel as the state animal and ensuring its protection. However, after the law was passed, the number of camels has steadily declined.
In fact, even the Rajasthan High Court has expressed concern over this situation. Commenting on the situation, the High Court said that after the law was passed, the number of the state animal has halved, but the government is not paying attention to it.
The court said that the government should take this seriously. The High Court was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation regarding the continuously declining number of the state animal. During the hearing, the government asked for time to respond.
Following this, the court adjourned the hearing until March 29. The Jaipur bench of Pushpendra Bhati and Vineet Mathur heard the case on March 10.
7,50,000 camels in 2004 but only 1,50,000 in 2021
Advocate Pratik Kasliwal, amicus curiae in the case, stated that in 2004, there were 7,50,000 camels in the state. When the law was enacted in 2015, the number had dropped to 3,26,000. However, four years later, this number had dropped to 2,13,000. In 2021, the number had reached approximately 1,50,000.
Govt has not responded since July 2022
Following this, the High Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and sought a response from the government. However, the government has not responded since July 2022.
Decline in interest among camel breeders due to ban on sale
The government acknowledged the need to amend the law. They explained that after the law was enacted, a complete ban was imposed on the sale of camels in the state, which led to a complete halt in the sale of camels at animal fairs. Consequently, a decline in interest among camel breeders has also been observed.
Permission needed to transport camel
To transport camels from one district to another or outside the state, permission must be obtained from the District Collector, a complex and lengthy process that often takes months, causing significant inconvenience to herders.
Law ignores important aspects
Experts believe that the law focuses solely on preventing slaughter, while ignoring important aspects such as the lack of grazing land for camels and developing markets for their products (such as camel milk).
Considering these factors, the government acknowledged the need for amendments to the law in response to a question in the Assembly in 2022. However, no action has been taken to date.