THE MAHARAO PRAGMULJI NATURE CONSERVATION TRUST

On 15th May 1948, the 12-yr-old Yuvraj Prithvirajsinhji was gifted Chadva Rakhal by his father, ‘for his absolute enjoyment and pleasure’. From that day and through his succession as Maharao Pragmulji III in 1991, he and his wife, Maharani Priti Devi of Kutch were the custodians of Chadva Rakhal for more than seven decades, preserving the legacy that Maharao Pragmalji II had begun in 1870.

It was their life-long vision to protect the land as a sanctuary for wildlife and as a place of natural beauty for the people of Kutch; a region undergoing rapid land transformation and habitat fragmentation with the burgeoning industrialisation that is taking place.

In 2021, they formed the Maharao Pragmulji Nature Conservation Trust, to ensure the long-term protection and preservation of Chadva Rakhal as an area of biodiversity, as well as a place with cultural and historical significance to Kutch and India.