The Punjab government has announced that it will develop the Jhajjar-Bachauli Wildlife Sanctuary as a leopard safari destination to promote eco-tourism in the state. According to the StateEducation minister Harjot Singh, the Punjab Government will develop the wildlife sanctuary in the Sri Anandpur Sahib as the state's first wildlife sanctuary of the state where the tourist will view the wildlife in its natural habitat.

The Minister also said that the picturesque Nangal area will be developed as a tourist place.

The state government has allocated Rs 10 crore for the Nangal project in its 2025-26 budget to develop the tourist infrastructure in the region.

About Jhajjar-Bachauli Wildlife Sanctuary

The Jhajjar- Bachauli Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a protected sanctuary by the Punjab government in 1998 under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

Location - Rupnagar District. It lies between Latitude 31º16’N and Longitude 76º31.5’E and is spread over 1.16 square kilometers.

Eco-Sensitive Zone - In 2017 the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change declared the sanctuary an Eco-Sensitive Zone. The Eco-sensitive Zone shall be from 100 meters of the sanctuary boundary to 0.65 square kilometers area.

Flora and Fauna- The key species are found in the sanctuary are Sambar , Barking Deer, Python,Cobra , Spectacled Cobra , Red Jungle Fowl.

Leopards in India

The 5th Cycle leopard population estimation was released by the government of India in February 2024.

The census was carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Wildlife Institute of India in collaboration with state governments. The census was carried out in the 70 % of Leopard habitat area in the country.

Total Leopards in India - 13,874 (Range: 12,616 – 15,132) leopards.

Leopard States: Madhya Pradesh has the largest leopard population, with 3907 leopards

Maharashtra is in the second place, followed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Forest Cover in Punjab

According to the 2023 Indian Forest Report, only 3.67 % of the state area was under forest, while 21.76 % of the country’s area was under forest.

The forest cover in the state decreased from 1,846.54 square kilometers in 2021 to 1.846.09 square kilometers in 2023, a decline of 0.45 square kilometers.

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