BANGALORE: The High Court on Wednesday ordered a stay to relocate 25 elephants from the borders of Hassan and Kodagu districts and directed the Union government to seek opinion from experts in Kenya on the issue.A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vikramjit Sen and Justice A S Bopanna, hearing the suo motu petition over increasing elephant deaths, refused to grant permission for the proposed relocation of jumbos from Alur Forest range to Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and observed, “Court has not given permission to relocate elephants from Kodagu and Hassan to either BRT, Bandipur, Cauvery or Bhadra sanctuaries, until the opinion of the experts is consulted.The Central government should consider the urgent suggestions of conservation experts from Africa or other countries.” During the hearing, principal chief conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Warden B K Singh made a detailed presentation in the court regarding man-animal conflict in the state and said that the island fencing of the coffee estates in Kodagu district, loss of forest area and increasing eco-tourism are main reasons for the said conflict.He also submitted that exotic weeds like parthenium, eupatorium and lantana were growing in abundance in wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the state.Submitting that elephant prevention trenches (EPTs) and solar powered fences (SPF) have been effective in combating the conflict, Singh submitted that the department has spent over `8 crore in digging and maintaining EPTs.In 2008-09, 33.07 km of EPT was dug at a cost of `22.99 lakh, in 2009-10, 26.95 km at a cost of `58.40 lakh and in 2010-11, the department has spent `702.15 lakh to construct 41.55 km of EPT and to maintain it.For 2011-12, there is a proposal to construct 151.80 km of EPT at a cost of `130 lakh.The department has also installed SPF at a cost of `153 lakh in the past, and proposes to install more at a cost of `73.85 lakh this year.Meanwhile, the department has also submitted that the anti-depredation cost (for scaring and driving away elephants when they enter human habitat) was increasing every year.The department has shown an expenditure of `25 lakh in 2008 and `76 lakh in 2010-11.Among the other long term measures to mitigate the conflict are: providing LPG to people in adjoining forest areas and plans to restore the corridor connectivity by declaring 23,000 acres of deemed forest areas in Sakaleshpur in Hassan district.There are plans to acquire 2,500 acres of private holdings.
Comments
0 comment