MANAGING THE MAN-ELEPHANT CONFLICT FOCUS OF CENTRE: YADAV
Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday said managing human-elephant conflict is a major focus of the government of India, which believes that no conservation effort is successful without the participation and cooperation of local communities.
Terming the increasing human-elephant conflicts as a sensitive issue, he said on an average 500 people are killed annually by jumbos and about 100 elephants are killed in retaliation by people in the country.
The minister made the remarks at the World Elephant Day celebrations at the Periyar National Park here.
“Managing human-elephant conflict is a major focus of the Indian government. Reaching out to the families of the victims affected by elephants, the Centre has increased the ex-gratia from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh. To find a longterm solution, we are revisiting the elephant corridors of the country and have finished more than 50 per cent of the task involving key stakeholders in this endeavour,” he said.
Noting that elephant conservation in the country has done remarkably well despite many challenges, he said India continues to be a leader in ensuring protection to the largest mammal under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India has the largest and the most stable population of Asian elephants, the minister said, adding that the country houses more than 60 per cent of wild Asian elephants. The population of elephants was 29,964 as recorded in last elephant census conducted in 2017, he said.
Pointing out that India has 31 Elephant Reserves, he said in the last three years, Dandeli Elephant Reserve has been notified by the state of Karnataka, Singphan Elephant Reserve by Nagaland and Lemru Elephant Reserve in Chhattisgarh.