Human-wildlife conflict: Special cell set up in Uttarakhand to deal with situation, govt tells LS

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) A special cell has been set up in Uttarakhand for identification, monitoring, and resolution of situations arising due to human-wildlife conflict in the state, the government has informed the Lok Sabha.

Replying to a question from BJP MP Anil Baluni on the issue, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh also told the House on Monday that an exercise for the estimation of the leopard population in Uttarakhand has been completed with the assistance of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

Baluni asked the government as to whether it proposes to formulate a new policy for Uttarakhand to check "rapidly increasing" incidents of human-wildlife conflict and run a joint special campaign with the state government to check the increasing incidents of animal attack.

The Garhwal MP also asked whether the government is conducting any specific studies or carrying expert investigations to understand the reasons behind the increasing conflict between wild animals and the humans in the state.

In his reply, the minister said, "As per information received from the State of Uttarakhand, a 'Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Cell' has been constituted in the state." "Under this mechanism, systematic work is being carried out for the identification, monitoring, and resolution of situations arising due to human-wildlife conflict, along with documentation and maintenance of relevant records and data," he said.

Further, with the assistance of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, the exercise for estimation of the leopard population has been completed in the state, Singh added.

The minister said that incidents of crop damage due to human-wildlife conflict are reported from different parts of the country from time to time.

"However, the management of wildlife including mitigation of human-animal conflicts is primarily the responsibility of the concerned state government/Union territory administration," he said, adding they are the first responder in human-wildlife conflict situations.

Baluni, who is also the chief spokesperson of the BJP, had recently flagged the rising incidents of man-animal conflict in the hill regions of Garhwal in Uttarakhand, and urged the Centre to help the state in dealing with the challenge.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour on December 5, he told the Lok Sabha that four people have been killed in leopard attacks in the Garhwal region and more than 15 injured in the past three weeks.

Bear attacks too have been on the rise in Uttarakhand, leading to curfew-like situation in the hills post-sundown, he had said, adding, "People have stopped sending their children to schools out of fear of leopard attacks." The BJP MP has urged Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav to help the state procure modern cages, and tranquillising and fox guns to help deal with the situation.

He has also urged the Centre to depute a team of experts from the Wildlife Institute of India to understand the reason for the rise in man-animal conflict in Uttarakhand and explore ways in which the families of those who have lost their lives can be helped. PTI PK PK KVK KVK