By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 28 Feb: During the Zero Hour discussion, several members from the Treasury benches as well as the Opposition raised serious concern over continuing human-wildlife conflicts in the state. Those who raised the issue under Rule 58 included Sumit Hridayesh, Gopal Rana, Harish Dhami, etc. The members pointed out that not only tigers, leopards are a menace, but also there is damage caused by wild boars, monkeys and other animals, etc.
Responding to the concerns raised by the members, Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal admitted that it is an issue of serious concern but added that the government is committed to dealing with this problem effectively. He said that the compensation payable to the victims or their families has been hiked significantly. It has been ensured that the compensation is paid at the earliest. He also informed the House that in case of wild boars damaging crops, the rangers have been permitted to authorise their killing. Not only this, many animals have been included for payment of compensation like wasps, snakes, bears and monkeys, etc. He also said that the monkey menace is a serious issue of concern and this has led to many of the farmers in the hills turning away from agriculture activities. He reported that the government has taken up large scale sterilisation of monkeys in the state. As a result, around 25 percent fall in the population of monkeys has been observed. In addition, the forest department has been directed to be on alert mode round the clock to deal with leopard and tiger attacks. Identified maneaters are being trapped and, if necessary gunned down, or rescued. A number of rescue centres have been set up to keep the captured leopards and tigers.
Compensation has been raised significantly and now Rs 6 lakhs is paid for death due to wildlife attack, Rs 3 lakhs in case of serious injuries and also a compensation of Rs 37,300 in case of death of cows or buffaloes, etc.
