MUMBAI: Environmentalists and conservationists may find hard to digest the forest department’s decision not to release a new set of gharial (alligators) population into the river Chambal, the safest haven for the endangered reptile.

Forest officials reportedly planning to release gharial in river Ganga and other river systems in the country.

Does this imply the Chambal is being seen as an unfit habitat for Gharials? "Definitely not," says Pariskhit Gautam director, freshwater and wetlands programme, WWF-India, an agency, which coordinates crisis management group formed to probe the cause of the tragedy. He adds, "Chambal is the most unpolluted and cleanest of all the rivers. But since the mass death of the creatures last December, we are concerned and do not want to take the risk of releasing a fresh set of gharials into the river until we get a conclusive reports on why they are dying."

Gharials, often confused with crocodiles, characterized by their long and thin snout and the "ghara" or pot on their head are one of the most threatened crocodile species. They are classified as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union.

The issue came to the prominence when in December 2007 more than 65 gharials were found dead within a 35km stretch of the Chambal, which runs through the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. The river Chambal is the largest of only three remaining breeding populations of gharial left in the world. With estimates from 2007 population surveys indicating 200-300 breeding adults left in the world, the mass deaths pose a significant threat to the species.

After the crisis in 2007, different theories emerged on the causes of gharial deaths. According to one theory, river Yamuna that meets Chambal is polluted so that’s harmful for gharials. A team of international veterinarians and crocodile experts performed the post mortem on the dead gharials also found toxins in their bodies. However, none of the theories pointed the exact cause of deaths. There were also reports that it is illicit fishing and netting which ultimately killing gharials either by immediate strangulation in the net or by slow effects of poisoning.

While agreeing with Gautam that a solution needs to be found before fresh sets of gharials are released into the river BK Patnaik, principal wildlife warden UP informed surveys as well as elementary experiments were going on.

But studies may take years to complete by then dwindling gharial population would have reduced considerably and may even vanish. Agreeing Gautam said "We are pressing for the studies to be completed as soon as possible."

As for releasing the gharials in Ganga and how it could ensure the protection in a vast expanse of river ganga when the gharials couldn’t be protected in a smaller Chambal river Patnaik replied, "We will be releasing them in the sanctuaries so that they are protected."

According to a top former senior forest official, who was actively involved with the management of the sanctuary from its inception, if measures of protection are not tightened then gharials can't be saved.

"Even before conservation measures started in the region, gharials survived in the Chambal waters. Chambal is the mother of the gharial population and any conservationist worth his salt will never deplore it for being used as a refuge for the endangered specie," remarked a former top official.

The National Chambal (Gharial) Wildlife Sanctuary in India was founded in 1979 and is part of a large area co-administered by the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, covering nearly 690 km long stretch.