CM Bhupendra Patel chairs 26th Meeting of the State Board for Wildlife in Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar, January 2026:In the 26th meeting of the State Wildlife Board held in Gandhinagar under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, it was informed that the Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary in Banaskantha has been included in the National Program for Bear Conservation by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India.

In this meeting, held in the presence of Forest and Environment Minister Shri ArjunbhaiModhwadia and Minister of State Shri Pravin Mali, details presented before the Chief Minister also mentioned that the presence of a tiger has been observed in the Ratanmahal Sanctuary, and there is a strong possibility of it settling there permanently.

In this context, the meeting also held discussions on planning community participation training for residents for tiger conservation and protection in the area, in collaboration with the NTCA.

Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel directed the Forest Department to ensure that the rising number of tourists and visitors in the state’s protected forest areas does not cause any harm or disturbance to wildlife.

He instructed that eco-tourism be promoted and visitor policy guidelines be formulated. The meeting also discussed plans to identify a sanctuary location in the near future for Gujarat’s growing leopard population, including rescued leopards.

In the presence of Chief Minister Shri Bhupendra Patel, Forest Minister Shri Arjun Modhwadia, and Minister of State Shri Pravin Mali, around 18 proposals related to roads, water supply, optical fibre, renewable energy, power transmission lines, and other facilities within sanctuaries and national parks were placed before the meeting for approval.

MLAs Shri Mahesh Kaswala, Shri Devabhai Malam, Smt. MaltibenMaheshwari and others participated in the meeting and offered suggestions for wildlife conservation. The meeting was conducted by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests DrJaipal Singh.

The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary of the Forest and Environment Department, Dr Vinod Rao, Head of the Forest Force Dr A.P. Singh, along with other Principal Chief Conservators of Forests and senior officials of the forest department.

Source: Information Department, Gujarat