Data Zone
Site description (2004 baseline):
AVIFAUNA: The Lesser Florican is seen only during the breeding season. It arrives at the onset of monsoon by the end of June or beginning of July, and leaves by the end of October or in November. A mosaic of grasslands and agricultural fields are present in this Sanctuary. The Florican is mostly found in protected grasslands. During 1984, nine males were sighted in Chadawat, Dhulat- Rajabheda, Karnawat and Pipami grasslands, while 7 were seen in 1989 (Sankaran and Rahmani 1990). In the 2,700 ha Panpura grasslands, no florican was sighted at that time. But now, 4-8 males are regularly seen (P. M. Lad pers. comm. 2002). As private and government grasslands have decreased in size and deteriorated in quality due to over-grazing, the birds could have shifted to Panpura, which is protected by the Forest Department. No work has been done on the bird life of this Sanctuary but it could not be very different from Sailana Kharmor Sanctuary.
OTHER KEY FAUNA: Sardarpur Kharmor Sanctuary does not have large ungulates or predators (except for a stray record of Leopard Panthera pardus).
Smaller mammals include the Golden Jackal Canis aureus, Indian Fox Vulpes bengalensis, and Common Langur Semnopithecus entellus.
After the initial notification of the Sanctuary under Section 18, no progress could be made under Section 19 to 25 (for determination of rights) to enable its notification under Section 26-A. After intervention by the Supreme Court, efforts were made to start proceedings under Section 19 to 25. During 1991, amendments were made in the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 (WPA). Meanwhile, difficulties were experienced by local people in transfer of their own proprietary land (bhoomi swami land) due to the provisions of Section 20 of the WPA. Therefore, a section of villagers demanded that their villages should be excluded from the Sanctuary area. The Cabinet Sub-committee of Madhya Pradesh state deliberated on this issue and decided that the proposals to rationalize areas of national parks and sanctuaries may be examined by a technical experts committee. Accordingly, a committee was constituted for the rationalization of the Kharmor Sanctuary. The Committee examined the Amendments made to the Act during 1991 and 2002. A provision has been made in the WPA under Section 24, that in certain cases rights of local people can continue within the limits of a sanctuary in consultation with the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State. In the present case, it is not advisable to exclude any area of the Kharmor Sanctuary keeping in view the requirement of this globally threatened species, listed as Endangered species in the Red Data Book of the IUCN (World Conservation Union). Secondly, it is also not advisable and desirable to acquire private crop fields because it would cause misery to the local people, and would require massive financial resources which are not available. Therefore, to accommodate the requirements of the florican and the local community, the Committee recommended that: The local people should be permitted to exercise their rights on their land under Section 24(c). Within the Sanctuary area some revenue grasslands (defined as forest under the definition provided by the Supreme Court) should be identified and handed over to the Forest Department so that a mosaic of grasslands and cultivation is maintained. There is no need to denotify any part of the Sardarpur Kharmor Sanctuary.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Sardarpur Wildlife Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/sardarpur-wildlife-sanctuary-iba-india on 07/01/2025.