Punjab Government on Friday decided to do away with the requirement of panchayat resolutions for short-term permits to shoot crop-damaging animals like wild boar and roz.
Besides, the State Government has also approved sterilisation of bulls by the State Animal Husbandry Department to control stray cattle menace in line with the practice being followed in some other States.
The decisions were taken during a meeting of Punjab State Wildlife Board, chaired by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, on Friday.
Deciding to simplify the procedure for sanctioning 45-day permits for shooting these crop-damaging animals, the Government made it clear that it would no longer require a Panchayat resolution.
The decision was also taken to put the permit process online and on WhatsApp platform to ensure ease of procedure for grant of permits.
“These permits for limited hunting are confined to privately owned land and are meant only for crop-damaging animals,” the spokesperson clarified.
The meeting also decided on various initiatives to promote ecological preservation, including creation of a conservation reserve along 185 kms of River Beas.
The Board has also been empowered to decide on fishing seasons as against the earlier practice of fishing being a part of the irrigation and drainage department’s domain.
Other conservation measures approved at the meeting include creation of Ranjit Sagar Dam Wildlife Sanctuary to promote eco-tourism, such as angling and river cruise, the spokesperson said.
The meeting also discussed the low occupancy at the forest and canal guest houses in the State and decided to place the infrastructure under the control of the Wildlife Development Corporation.
Allowing horse and camel safaris and setting up eco trails were some of the measures discussed to boost eco-tourism.
The Board also decided to declare Ropar Wetland as a wildlife sanctuary or conservation reserve, said an official spokesperson.
A proposal to ban commercial netting was also discussed, said the spokesperson adding that the meeting also gave in-principle approval to release of ‘gharials’ or fish-eating crocodiles — 17 hatchlings of which are ready at Chhatbir Zoo — into Sutlej-Beas.
The State Government also approved a proposal to convert Siswan village panchayat land into a community reserve by declaring 3,199 acres of land as forest area under the land Preservation Act 1990.
The Chief Minister has also asked the Board members to explore what other states had been doing in the sphere of ecosystem preservation and assess how those initiatives could be adapted to Punjab’s ecosystem.