Lok Sabha Question No. 2855 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-21
Subject: Tiger Attacks
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Akshaibar Lal

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2855 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.03.2022

## Tiger Attacks

## 2855.  SHRI AKSHAIBAR LAL:

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

- (a) whether a leopard killed two children in Maigalpurva and Pakaria of Gayaghat under motipur area in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh and whether a leopard also killed a child of a village of motipur range of kartniaghat wildlife divisions and whether such incidents have become order of the day and there is terror among the villagers;
- (b) if so, the steps being taken by the Government to avert such incidents;
- (c) whether the Government propose to erect ultramodern fence to check the entry of wild animals in the villages, if so, the time by which and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether the Government has provided compensation to those families whose members have been killed in the wild animals attack; and
- (e) the number of persons killed in the wild animal attacks along with the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) As per the information received from the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, four children were killed in separate incidences in Bahraich district adjoining forest of Motipur range in Katerniaghat Wildlife Division.
- (b) The following are the important steps taken by the State Forest Department to mitigate the negative interface related incidences:
- (i) Identification and  capture of animal involved in such incidences in accordance  with  the  Standard  Operating  Procedure  (SoP)  of  the National Tiger Conservation Authority;
- (ii) Organizing frequent awareness drives and workshops in vulnerable villages, designating willing villagers as tiger friends, pursuing with villagers to  adopt alternative cropping pattern in order to minimize hiding places in vicinity of villages;
- (iii) Installation of solar lights in areas prone to such incidences.
- (c) Fencing is  not  advisable  in  ' in-situ '  conservation  as  these  physical  structures could bar the natural genetic exchange between different wild species and this could threaten to their long term survival and could also prove to be detrimental to  tiger  and  wildlife  conservation.  Besides,  fencing  of  Tiger  Reserves  and corridors  will  create  artificial  barrier  to  the  source-sink  and  meta-population dynamics  of  the  tiger  which  will  adversely  affect  their  survival.  However, selective fencing has been done in the past in extremely vulnerable area.
- (d) The  Government  of  Uttar  Pradesh  has  declared  human  wildlife  conflict  as natural disaster vide 393/1-11-2018-4(G)/2016 dated 17.10.2018, which provides for payment of an ex-gratia amount of Rs. 5.00 lakhs to the next of kin of the deceased person.
- (e) As informed by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, nine persons were killed in  attacks  relating  to  Leopard,  Elephant  and  Tiger  during  2021-2022  in different parts of Katerniaghat Wildlife Division, Bahraich.

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