Road agencies told to sponsor heavy patrolling
Agencies constructing roads and other infrastructure projects within wildlife corridors and protected areas will have to sponsor intensive patrolling along these stretches to ensure there is no human-animal conflict during the time such projects are being undertaken.
This decision was taken by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWl) at its recent meeting held on June 13 after the Supreme Court had directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and NBWl to consider ways to prevent man-animal conflicts on roads passing through forests and wildlife corridors across the country.
The court is hearing a PIl filed by a group of eminent citizens led by Vidya Athreya who is an ecologist. The case is likely to be listed in court next week where the Centre will table the report prepared by the NBWl as part of its response affidavit.
According to sources in the Ministry, the NBWl in its meeting decided that all agencies which are constructing or have constructed linear infrastructure projects in wildlife zones or protected areas must undertake necessary modifications in the design of existing roads. This is expected to take some time as the proposed modifications have to be prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India, the agency which is already examining the issue under a project titled “Ecological Impact of Assessment of Existing and Proposed Road Infrastructure in Important Wildlife Corridors of India”. Once the design modifications are proposed, the Standing Committee of NBWl will then examine it before it is to be carried out.
But till such time, the NBWl felt that death of wild animals can be mitigated by having intensive patrolling on the road/highway stretches situated along wildlife corridors and protected areas. The patrolling will be done “with the financial support” from the agencies responsible for maintenance of these roads and infrastructure projects, sources in the Ministry added.
In addition, the high incidence of elephant deaths along 27 critical elephant corridors of the country also came up for discussion before the Standing Committee of NBWl chaired by MoEF Minister Harsh Vardhan. These critical corridors are situated in 22 States.
The Committee was of the view that the concerned State Governments should be advised to secure these corridors by acquiring the land falling in these corridors.
Where acquisition is not possible, the committee decided to explore the possibility of declaring the corridors as eco-sensitive zones.
Mitigation of human wildlife conflict has been a cause of worry over the years with several species of wild animals, especially tigers, leopards and elephants, who are seen to stray into human habitations frequently. While guidelines and standard operating procedures are in place to handle such conflicts, the National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-2031) has emphasised the need to study the social and ecological aspects of human-animal conflict.
The NBWl further feels that in such situations where wild beasts stray into human territory, Section 144 of the CrPC must be invoked to prevent people from gathering in large numbers around the presence of these animals. According to wildlife experts, the presence of crowds is seen to trigger wildlife emergency situations.