MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)
(a) Details of elephants deaths due to unnatural reasons like train accidents, electrocution, poaching and poisoning during the last three years and current years, as per the information received from states, across the Country is as under.
Year Train Accident Electrocution Poaching Poisoning Total
2015-16 9 57 33 5 104
2016-17 21 55 11 2 89
2017-18 19 66 10 10 105
2018-19
(upto 31.12.2018) 13 48 5 9 75
Total 62 226 59 26 373
(b) The Government has conducted inquiry and taken necessary action on death of wild elephants in every incident. FIR’s are also lodged with local police for taking necessary legal action.
(c) to (f) Yes Madam, human casualties, crop and house damages are reported from various states due to elephant attack. The number of human killed by the wild elephant and compensation paid for the loss of life and property during the last three years, State-wise, is given in Annexure I, II and III respectively.
The Government has taken following steps to minimize the impacts of human wildlife conflict including human elephant conflict.
(i) Financial and technical assistance is provided to elephant range states under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes ‘Project Elephant’ for protection and conservation of elephants in the country.
(ii) All the elephant states have been directed to implement the Guidelines for Management of Human Elephant Conflict issued by the Ministry on 6.10.2017.
(iii) The Ministry has issued guidelines in context of human-wildlife conflict to the Chief Wildlife Wardens of all the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations dated 24th December, 2014 and 1st June, 2015.
(iv) The Ministry has notified enhancement of ex-gratia rates related wildlife depredation vide letter No. 14-2/2011 WL-I (part) dated 9th February, 2018.
(v) The Ministry, with financial assistance from Ad-hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), has formulated a scheme to provide assistance to the States for ‘Augmentation of Fodder and Water in Protected Areas/Forest Areas’, aimed at improving habitat in the areas by making provision for augmenting grass, fodder and water to the wild herbivores. So as to check the loss caused to by wild animals.
(vi) Wildlife Institute of India in consultation with the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change, National Highway Authority, National Tiger Conservation Authority and World Bank Group has published a document namely ‘ Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure’ to assist the project agencies of linear infrastructure in designing the linear infrastructure in a manner which will reduce human-animal conflicts in the areas where these linear infrastructures are passing through Protected Areas and other wildlife areas.
(vii) Construction/erecting of physical barriers, such as barbed wire fence, solar powered electric fence, bio-fencing using cactus, boundary wall etc. to prevent entry of wild animals into crop field.
(viii) The Ministry has approved a pilot project on the immune-contraception for controlling the population of wild animals responsible for damage and destruction of crops, namely; elephant, wild boar, monkey, and nilgai.
(ix) The Ministry has also initiated a human wildlife conflict mitigation project in collaboration with the GIZ.
(x) Works like creation of water sources, plantation of fruiting trees, pasture development, fire protection etc. are being done to enrich elephant habitat so that elephants can be retained in their habitat.
(xi) Forest Department is engaging local communities as animal trackers to know the movement of elephants and also to caution local people to avoid man-animal conflict and to prevent damage or loss of human life and elephants.
(xii) The latest technologies such as WhatsApp, SMS based alert system, use of Radio Collaring of elephant etc. are used to minimise elephant depredation.
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