Bhopal: While Asiatic lions have, for decades, been the pride of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh now has begun flaunting its cheetahs, which have become the state's prestige symbol.This, insiders say, is the likely reason behind the delay in signing an MoU with Rajasthan on creating a cheetah corridor.While Rajasthan has already issued a second reminder, MP officials remain silent, with no one willing to comment on why the agreement has stalled.Rajasthan PCCF (wildlife) Shikha Mehra told TOI that a reminder has been sent to the MP govt recently after the first letter went unanswered. Her counterpart in Madhya Pradesh, PCCF (wildlife) Shubhranjan Sen, said, "We are looking into the matter."Sources said MP officers skipped the first meeting where the MoU was to be signed and are now awaiting clearance "from the top" before proceeding.Insiders, however, point to a deeper reason: the uncertainty over bringing more cheetahs from abroad."If MP had 36 cheetahs, it wouldn't mind if some strayed into Rajasthan through a corridor. But the numbers are too few to part with. Once an MoU is signed, MP cannot demand them back. Credit for Project Cheetah rests with MP, and they don't want to share it — much like what Asiatic lion is for Gujarat," said a senior officer.He added that only talks between the two CMs or intervention from the Centre can break the deadlock.The corridor idea was first floated in June 2024, when MP CM Mohan Yadav suggested to Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma that the two states could "protect each other's flagship species." P 2In November 2024, a high-level coordination meeting was held at Ranthambore, chaired jointly by the PCCFs and chief wildlife wardens of both states, in the presence of WII experts and divisional forest officers.Officials finalised a roadmap that included a Cheetah Action Plan, a standard operating procedure (SOP) for free-range cheetah movement, public awareness campaigns and drafting of the MoU. The meeting was hailed as a critical step for accelerating conservation.According to sources, the proposed corridor would cover 17,000 sq km in total, of which 6,500 sq km falls in Rajasthan and 10,500 sq km in Madhya Pradesh. This vast landscape was expected to provide safe passage for cheetahs dispersing from Kuno into adjoining habitats, while also supporting better monitoring and conflict management.But by June 2025, momentum had stalled. At the 15th meeting of the Rajasthan State Wildlife Board in Jaipur, where Rajasthan hoped to formalise the MoU, MP officials simply did not show up — despite having earlier confirmed, say sources. Rajasthan officials say they are still waiting for Madhya Pradesh's response.

Source: Times of India