With traditional elephant corridors being increasingly diverted for developmental projects, the country is witnessing terrible ‘human-elephants conflict.
Sample this: In 2017-18 (up to November 2017), 275 people were mauled to death by jumbos. In 2016-17, 515 persons were killed and a compensation of Rs 14.78 crore was given, said Minister of State for Environment Mahesh Sharma in a written reply in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
He said that in 2017-18 (up to November 2017) an ex gratia amount of Rs 5.91 crore has been awarded.
He said that the traditional corridors of elephants and their habitats have been fragmented due to utilisation of forest land for agricultural purposes, development works like hydro-electric power process, irrigation dams, canals, transmission lines, rail lines, roads etc. Such fragmentation has caused human elephant conflict.
The Minister added that securing of elephant corridors, including acquisition of land and removal of encroachments along the corridors, is the responsibility of State Governments, although the Ministry provides financial and technical assistance to states for this.
The Ministry has requested all States through letters sent on August 24 and November 17 last year, and May 1 this year to protect elephant corridors for the long-term conservation of Asian elephants, Sharma said.
“Some States have secured some elephant corridors by procuring the private lands or by relocating the families from the areas falling within these corridors,” the Minister said.
As elephant herds are known to migrate across 350-500 sq. km. annually maintaining corridors for them is therefore of crucial importance to both jumbos and human habitats, according to a report ‘Right of Passage’ released last year by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in collaboration with Project Elephant and the UK based NGO Elephant Family. It identifies and records details pertaining to 101 elephant corridors across India.
Of these 101 corridors, 28 are located in south India, 25 in central India, 23 in northeastern India, 14 in northern West Bengal and 11 in northwestern India.
In terms of their functionality or usage by elephants, almost 70 per cent of the 101 corridors are regularly used, 25 per cent are occasionally used, and 6 per cent rarely.
Almost all elephant corridors in south India (93 per cent) and northern West Bengal (86 per cent) are regularly used; 66 per cent of corridors are regularly used in northeastern India.
