According to a PTI report, Central government has asked Gujarat to submit a proposal for having tigers in the jungle of the state.

Tigers – found in abundance in Gujarat from Valsad to Banaskantha till the 1950s – completely vanished from the state by 1997.

Observing that Gujarat was the only state in the western region not having any tigers, Environment Minister Jairarm Ramesh at a recent meeting suggested that Gujarat officials explore the possibility of introduction of tigers in the state.

“The Minister has asked the state officials to submit a proposal accordingly,” a senior environment official told PTI.

However, Gujarat is averse to the idea of exchanging Asiatic lions in exchange for tigers, the report says.