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New Delhi: More than 2,800 people lost their lives in elephant attacks in India from 2019 to 2023, with Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal among the worst-affected states, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Friday.
According to data shared by Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh in response to a question by CPI(M) MP John Brittas, between 2019-20 and 2023-24, a total of 2,869 people were killed in elephant attacks.
Odisha reported the highest deaths in the country at 624, followed by Jharkhand (474), West Bengal (436), Assam (383) and Chhattisgarh (303), according to the data.
The annual toll from elephant attacks has been rising steadily, increasing from 595 in 2019-20 to 629 in 2023-24. Tamil Nadu and Karnataka recorded 256 and 160 human deaths due to elephant attacks, respectively, over the five years.
In contrast, tiger attacks claimed the lives of 378 people between 2020 and 2024.
Maharashtra reported the highest number of deaths during this period at 218, followed by Uttar Pradesh (61) and Madhya Pradesh (32).
As many as 110 deaths were reported from tiger attacks in 2022, most of them from Maharashtra (82). The number declined slightly to 85 in 2023 and 73 in 2024.
The minister also said that the environment ministry does not compile data on livestock and crop losses caused by wild animals at the national level.
On the question of declaring animals as vermin under Section 62 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Singh said the environment ministry had declared rhesus macaque monkeys as vermin in Himachal Pradesh for one year through a gazette notification dated April 23, 2020.
Asked whether the Centre would consider amending the Act to empower states to declare animals as vermin within their jurisdictions, the minister said, "There is no proposal to amend the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 as on date." He added that following the 2022 amendment, Section 11 of the Act empowers the State Chief Wildlife Warden to manage human-wildlife conflict situations.