Lok Sabha Question No. 717 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: Deaths of Animals on Railway Tracks
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Mahesh Sahoo

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 717

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## Deaths of Animals on Railway Tracks

## 717.  SHRI MAHESH SAHOO:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  ANDCLIMATE CHANGEbe pleased to state:

- (a)   whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  death  of  many  wild  animals  including elephants while crossing railway tracks passing through different reserve sanctuaries in Odisha;
- (b)  if so, the total number of such incidents reported during the last five years:
- (c)   whether the Government proposes to create special corridors for movement of animals across railway tracks and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  any  plan  has  been  envisaged  to  regulate  the  movement  of  trains  passing through the sanctuaries particularly during night or construct elevated tracks along the route and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the other measures taken by the Government in preventing such incidents?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

| (a) and (b)   | Yes Sir. As informed by the Government of Odisha, the details of deaths of wild animals including elephants reported during the last five years in Odisha are given in Annexure I.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
|---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| (c) and (d)   | The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has issued an advisory to States/UTs requesting that proposals for linear infrastructure,including railway projects,for consideration by the Standing Committee of National Board for Wildlife should be accompanied by an Animal Passage Plan and other mitigation measures prepared on case to case basis in consultation with the State Chief Wild Life Warden on the basis of the document -'Eco- Friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure on Wildlife', prepared by Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.These guidelines suggest modifications in the designs of linear infrastructure which will ensure safe movement of wildlife. |

- (e) Other  measures  taken  by  the  Government  for  preventing  such incidents are as follows:
- i. Protected Areas, viz., National Parks, Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves covering  important  wildlife  habitats  have  been  notified all over the country under the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 to conserve wild animals and their habitats. The total number and area coverage of protected areas has increased from 759 and 161974.90 km 2 respectively in 2015 to 903 and 1,65,012.59 km 2 respectively in 2020.
- ii. In  order  to  further  strengthen  conservation  of  wildlife, Eco-Sensitive  Zones  (ESZs)  are  also  notified  around National  Parks  and  Sanctuaries  under  provisions  of  the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- iii. The Ministry extends financial assistance to State Governments/Union Territory Administrations under the Centrally Sponsored schemes(CSS) of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH), for providing better protection to wildlife including endangered species of animals/birds and improvement of their habitat.

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ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  &  (b)  OF  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  717  REGARDING  'DEATHS  OF  ANIMALS  ON RAILWAY TRACKS' BY SHRI MAHESH SAHOODUE FOR REPLY ON 05.02.2021

| Year    | Elephant   | Bear   | Spotted deer   | Honey badger   | Wild Boar   |
|---------|------------|--------|----------------|----------------|-------------|
| 2015-16 | 1          | -      | -              | -              | 1           |
| 2016-17 | -          | -      | -              | -              | -           |
| 2017-18 | 2          | 1      | -              | -              | -           |
| 2018-19 | 7          | -      | 5              | 1              | -           |
| 2019-20 | 1          | 1      | 2              | -              | -           |
| Total   | 11         | 2      | 7              | 1              | 1           |

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