‘Gir Lion Project’ is situated in

A conservation project named for a specific wildlife reserve is anchored in the state that actually hosts that reserve and the wild population it protects — the project's location follows from where the protected species survives today, not from any broader historical range or unrelated administrative claim.

The Gir Lion Project protects the Asiatic lion, and the world's only surviving wild population of the Asiatic lion (outside Africa) is found across the Saurashtra landscape of Gujarat, centered on the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Junagadh district. Since the project exists specifically to conserve this population in its native habitat, the Gir Lion Project is situated in Gujarat.

• Maharashtra's marquee reserve, Tadoba-Andhari, is managed for tiger conservation, a different flagship species from the Asiatic lion.

• Uttar Pradesh's Dudhwa National Park is managed for tigers and rhinos, species distinct from the Asiatic lion that the Gir Lion Project protects.

• Madhya Pradesh's Kanha and Bandhavgarh reserves are premier tiger habitats, not part of the Asiatic lion's conservation infrastructure.

None of these three states hosts the Asiatic lion's surviving wild population or its dedicated conservation project, confirming Gujarat as the state where the Gir Lion Project is situated.