Ahmedabad: The lions are back in Barda after 143 years, and Gujarat is now redrawing the forest map around them. In a major administrative overhaul aimed at strengthening wildlife management in Porbandar, the state govt has restructured the Porbandar forest division, creating a sharper range-and-beat network, adding forest areas and deploying two assistant conservators of forests to oversee the expanded landscape.
Gujarat govt has also ordered the transfer of relevant staff, vehicles, weapons, wireless equipment and other field resources along with the territorial changes
Under the new setup, Porbandar forest division will have seven ranges, with responsibilities redistributed among officers and field staff. Porbandar range will cover 6,840.8 hectares and 80 villages, while Ranavav range will cover 13,051.3 hectares and 27 villages.The revamp comes after Asiatic lions naturally returned to Barda, renewing conservationists’ focus on establishing the landscape as their second home. Govt said the new structure will strengthen forest protection, improve field-level monitoring and speed up action on wildlife and environmental issues.The restructuring also shifts 305.9 hectares from the reserve forest in Bhatia range under Jamnagar forest division to Bhanvad range under Porbandar. The transferred tract covers four villages in Bhanvad taluka.Kutiyana range, Porbandar social forestry range and Ranavav social forestry range will also come under the Porbandar forest division. The move brings a larger and more integrated forest landscape under one administrative command.Two assistant conservators of forests will oversee the revamped setup. One will supervise Porbandar and the two social forestry ranges, while the other will handle Ranavav, Bhanvad, Kutiyana and the mobile squad.Govt has also ordered the transfer of relevant staff, vehicles, weapons, wireless equipment and other field resources along with the territorial changes.The restructuring, officials said, is intended to give field teams clearer territorial responsibility and stronger administrative support for forest protection and wildlife management across the expanding Porbandar-Barda landscape.
