Lok Sabha Question No. 1492 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-25
Subject: Protection from Wild Animals
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: SONA RAM CHOUDHARY

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1492.

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.07.2017

## Protection from Wild Animals

## 1492.   COL.SONARAM CHOUDHARY:

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

- (a) whether the lives and property of people living in the villages in forest areas are being harmed by wild animals;
- (b) whether  the  number  of  people  killed  by  wild  animals  and  vice-versa  is  consistently rising in the forest areas and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is taking/ proposes to take any concrete steps for the safety of the  people  living  in  forest  areas  and  for  the  protection  and  preservation  of  the  wild animals; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) Yes, sir. Reports indicating damage to property and human life by wild animals in the villages in forest areas has been received in the Ministry.
- (b) Data available in the Ministry does not indicate that the number of people killed by wild animals and vice-versa is rising in the forest areas. Data received in the Ministry  from  National  Tiger  Conservation  Authority  (NTCA)  and  Project Elephant  Division      indicating  State  wise  details  of  people  killed  by  tiger  and elephants are furnished in Annexure-I and Annexure-II .
- (c) &(d) The important steps taken by the Central/State Governments  for the safety of the people living in forest areas and for the protection and preservation of the wild animals includes:
- i. A network  of  Protect  Areas  namely  viz.,  national  park,  Sanctuaries, Conservation  Reserves  and  Community  Reserve  covering  important wildlife  habitat  have  been  created  all  over  the  country  under  the provisions  of  the  Wild  Life  (Protection)  Act,  1972  to  conserve  wild animals  and  their  habitats  and  also  for  mitigation  of  human-  animal conflicts.
- ii. Financial assistance is provided to the State/Union Territory
- governments  under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  of  'Integrated Development  of  Wildlife  Habitats', 'Project Tiger'  and 'Project Elephant' for providing better protection to wildlife, and improvement of its habitats and also for mitigation of human-animal conflicts.
- iii. 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 that the wild animal will remain within forest itself.
- iv. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 provides regulatory functions for taking  up  activities  in  National  Parks  and  Sanctuaries  to  protect  the wildlife habitats.
- v. Payment  of  ex-gratia  amount  to  victims  of  wild  animal  attack  is provided with a view to reduce retaliatory killings.
- vi. Periodic  awareness  campaigns  to  sensitize  guide  and  advise  the general  public  on  man-animal  conflict,  including  dissemination  of information through various forms of media.
- vii. Financial assistance is provided under Centrally Sponsored   Scheme (CSS)  of  Integrated  Development  of  Wildlife  Habitats  (IDWH)  and Project Tiger for voluntary relocation of villages from within Protected  Areas  to  outside.  This  helps  in  moving  people  away  from wildlife rich habitats and thus reducing conflict situations.

***

## Annexure-I

## LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1492  REGARDING 'PROTECTION FROM WILD ANIMALS' BY COL.SONARAM CHOUDHARY DUE FOR REPLY ON 25.07.2017.

## State-wise details of human casualty/ death during last years as reported by National Tiger Conservation Authority

| S. No.   | State             |   2014-15 |   2015-16 |   2016-17 |   2017-18 (as on 2.4.2017) |
|----------|-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|----------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh    |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 2        | Arunachal Pradesh |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 3        | Assam             |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 4        | Bihar             |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 5        | Chhattisgarh      |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 6        | Jammu& Kashmir    |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 7        | Jharkhand         |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 8        | Karnataka         |         4 |         2 |         0 |                          0 |
| 9        | Kerala            |         1 |         1 |         0 |                          0 |
| 10       | Madhya Pradesh    |         6 |         6 |         3 |                          0 |
| 11       | Maharashtra       |         8 |         0 |         4 |                          2 |
| 12       | Mizoram           |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 13       | Odisha            |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 14       | Rajasthan         |         0 |         1 |         0 |                          0 |
| 15       | Tamil Nadu        |         1 |         1 |         0 |                          0 |
| 16       | Telangana         |         0 |         0 |         0 |                          0 |
| 17       | Uttar Pradesh     |         0 |         1 |         6 |                          0 |
| 18       | Uttarakhand       |         0 |         1 |         1 |                          0 |
| 19       | West Bengal       |        14 |        18 |         0 |                          0 |
|          | TOTAL             |        34 |        31 |        14 |                          2 |

## LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1492  REGARDING 'PROTECTION FROM WILD ANIMALS' BY COL.SONARAM CHOUDHARY DUE FOR REPLY ON 25.07.2017.

## State-wise details of human casualty/ death during last years as reported by Project Elephant Division

| State             | 2013-14                  | 2014-15                  | 2015-16                  |
|-------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|--------------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh    | 2                        | 2                        | NR                       |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 7                        | 1                        | 1                        |
| Assam             | 87                       | 54                       | 92                       |
| Chhattisgarh      | 23                       | 32                       | NR                       |
| Jharkhand         | 56                       | 53                       | 66                       |
| Karnataka         | 33                       | 38                       | 26                       |
| Kerala            | 7                        | 20                       | 6*                       |
| Maharashtra       | 0                        | 3                        | 0                        |
| Meghalaya         | 10                       | 3                        | 9                        |
| Nagaland          | 0                        | 1                        | 1                        |
| Odisha            | 67                       | 64                       | 63                       |
| Tamil Nadu        | 52                       | 31                       | 47                       |
| Tripura           | 0                        | 1                        | NR                       |
| Uttar Pradesh     | Information not received | Information not received | Information not received |
| Uttarakhand       | Information not received | Information not received | Information not received |
| West Bengal       | 69                       | 89                       | 108                      |
| TOTAL             | 413                      | 392                      | 419                      |

NR-Not Received