Lok Sabha Question No. 729 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-02-07
Subject: Prevention of man-animal conflicts
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: KAMLA DEVI PATLE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 729

TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2017

## Prevention of Man-animal conflicts

## 729. SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PAATLE:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of schemes/ projects under implementation at present for checking mananimal conflicts;
- (b) whether there is any proposal for launching any new scheme for this purpose, and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether delay occurs in providing compensation in the event of death/injury to people caused by elephants, bear, boars and loss of crops/properties caused by them;
- (d) the details thereof;
- (e) whether  in  view  of  inflation,  there  is  any  proposal  to  increase  the  amount  of compensation and if so, the details thereof;
- (f) the steps taken by the Government for protecting elephants/other wild animals; and
- (g) the preventive measures being taken for checking man-animal conflict in the country specially in Chhattisgarh?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## (SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

- (a) There is  no  specific  scheme  under  implementation  at  present  for  checking man-animal  conflicts.  However,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  the States/UT  Governments  for  checking  human  wildlife  conflict  under  the Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  of  'Integrated  Development  of  Wildlife Habitats' (IDWH), 'Project Tiger' and 'Project Elephant' of the Government of India.
- (b) No Sir.
- (c), (d) & (e) The  compensation  to  victims  of  wild  animal  attack  is  provided  by  the respective  State/UT  Governments.  The  Ministry  does  not  make  payments towards compensation directly.   However, financial assistance is provided under  Schemes  of  'IDWH',  'Project  Tiger'  and  'Project  Elephant',  as  and when sought by State Government and subject to availability of funds.
- (f) The important steps taken to protect wild animals including elephants are as follows:
- i) Legal  protection  to  wild  animals  against  hunting  and  commercial

exploitation  under  the  provisions  of  the  Wild  Life  (Protection)  Act, 1972.

- ii) Creation of Protected Areas, viz., National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Tiger reserves, Conservation Reserves and Community  Reserves covering  important  wildlife  habitats  all  over  the  country  under  the provisions  of  the  Wild  Life  (Protection)  Act,  1972  to  conserve  wild animals and their habitats.
- iii) Nation-wide launching of special programmes like 'Project Tiger' and 'Project Elephant' for conservation of species like tigers and elephants.
- iv) Launching  of  a  specific  component  of  'Recovery  programmes  for saving  critically  endangered  species  and  their  habitats'  under  the Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  'Integrated  Development  of  Wildlife Habitats  (IDWH)'  for  focused  conservation  action  on  selected  16 critically endangered species.
- v) In addition to provision of stringent punishment for the offenders, the Wild  Life  (Protection)  Act,  1972  also  provides  for  forfeiture  of  any equipment,  vehicle  or  weapon  that  is  used  for  committing  wildlife offence(s).
- vi) Provision of providing financial and technical assistance to the State/ Union Territory Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes for providing better protection to wildlife species and improvement of their habitats.
- vii) Empowerment  of  'Central  Bureau  of  Investigation'  (CBI)  under  the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to apprehend and prosecute wildlife offenders.
- viii) Setting  up  of  Wildlife  Crime  Control  Bureau  (WCCB)  to  ensure  coordination among various officers and State Governments in connection  with  the  enforcement  of  law  for  control  of  poaching  and illegal trade in wildlife and its products.
- (g) The following  are  the  important  preventive  measures  taken  to  check  mananimal conflict in the country including Chhattisgarh:
- i) Provisions  provided  under  Section  11  of  the  Wild  Life  (Protection) Act, 1972, inter-alia, empowering the Chief Wildlife Warden to take necessary steps to handle problematic wild animals.
- ii) Standard  Operating  Procedures  (SOP)  for  management  of  major problematic animals like tiger, elephant, leopard, rhino etc are being used by the respective state governments.
- iii) Construction/erecting of physical barriers, such as barbed wire fence, solar powered electric fence, bio-fencing using cactus, boundary wall etc. to prevent the entry of wild animals into crop field.
- iv) Improvement  of  wildlife  habitats  by  augmenting  the  availability  of food  and  water  in  forest  areas  to  reduce  the  entry  of  animals  from forest to human habitations.

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 24 th December, 2014 and 1 st June, 2015. The Ministry has specifically sought proposal from States/UTs, after objective assessment of the situation, details of the areas in which it is essential to reduce the overpopulation of wild animals for specified period.