Commissioner of Surguja Division TC Mahawar directed the district collectors of the division to hold meetings of the committee to decide compensation for the damage caused by elephants and sent the copy of the proposal to the Government as well as to him. The committee headed by the Collector will have Superintendent of Police, Divisional Forest Officer, CEO of Zila Panchayat, and Deputy Director of Agriculture Department.
Addressing a meeting held at Bagicha tehsil headquarters in Jashpur district, Mahawar said that the compensation provided for loss caused by elephants is paid according to the provisions of revenue book circular which is less. He directed the district collectors to prepare a proposal for a system for assessment of the loss of life, property and crops caused in elephant attack.
Mahawar said that the loss of paddy crops in elephant attack should be assessed according to the support price of paddy. Similar rate of compensation should be decided for Mahua and sugarcane as minimum support price is decided for them. For other crops, the market rate should be taken into consideration for assessment of loss.
The Commissioner asked the officers to advise the villagers that they should immediately inform the officers of the Forest Department if elephants enter any village and they should not tease or provoke the animals. He informed in the meeting that according to demand of land by SP Balrampur for Battalion, a land has been identified and directed the DFO to contact SP Balrampur in this regard.
He also directed to reserve land for SP officer in Koriya. Mahawar also directed to include the buildings constructed by Rural Engineering Service (RES) for police department in Jashpur district in the books of PWD. The Commissioner directed the Collector to take initiative to get approval for construction of two community centers in Surajpur from the Surguja and North Region Development Authority.
Mahawar directed the officers of Energy Department and Telecommunication Department to ensure arrangements for electricity and telecommunication in remote villages. He directed the officers of Energy Department to make arrangements for electricity in Sabagh police camp on priority basis. To the officers of PHE, the Commissioner directed to make necessary arrangements to prevent diarrhoea and jaundice and to keep the Nal-Jal scheme and spot source functional.
IG of Surguja Range TJ langkumer asked to Collector to ensure proper electricity and telecommunication facilities in the police stations and outposts in rural areas. Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) JP Chandrakar said that State government has issued circular regarding compensation to be given by the committee headed by the Collectors under the Gajraj Scheme.
Collector Surguja Ritu Sen, Collector Surajpur GR Churendra, Collector of Balrampur- Ramanujganj Alex Paul Menon, Collector of Jashpur Himshikhar Gupta, SPs of all districts, officers of armed forces, and other officers were present in the meeting. It may be mentioned that on March 11, Bilaspur Divisional Commissioner Sonmoni Borah directed officials to deploy the ‘Elephant Tracking System’ in all the concerned districts of the division.
He was chairing a meeting of Forest Department officers of the division at his office in Bilaspur. The meeting was also attended by Bilaspur District Collector Siddharth Komal Singh Pardeshi and the Chief Conservator of Forest of Surguja and Bilaspur.
Borah said that plantations should be carried out for arranging food for the elephants which could be saplings of banana, bamboo and miscellaneous species of other plants. He said that the move would also benefit other wild animals.
Borah also directed all district collectors to make the rivers and nullahs around the ‘Elephant Corridor’ free of all encroachments for ensuring availability of water for wild animals. He also asked the officials to rationalize the compensation distribution process for villagers affected by elephant problems. It was informed in the meeting that there are a total of 14 locations affected by presence of wild elephants in the division.
In the regions affected by the elephants the ‘Halla Bol’ committees need to be formed by offering training to villagers, the Commissioner said. The committees would ensure a suitable route for wild elephants to reach their locations, he said. There should not be unnecessary crowd of people formed or provoking elephants by villagers, Borah said. The Commissioner also directed officials to develop pastures for the wild elephants which can also be consumed by other wild animals.
It may be recalled that Bilaspur District Collector Siddharth Komal Singh Pardeshi had conducted inspection of Pendra area in the district ventured by the wild elephants early this month and directed the concerned officers to prepare a route plan to help the elephants to reunite with their mother groups. Pardeshi had directed the officers to hold meetings with the villagers and provide them information so that they remain alert. The villagers should not tease or provoke the elephants, he had stated.
The Collector had interacted with the residents of Karaunda Nahar village in Devrikhurd and asked them to remain alert but do not tease the elephants. He had held a meeting with the officers of Pendra-Marwahi including Divisional Forest Officer, Additional Collector, SDM, SDO and CEO of Janpad Panchayat at Kotmikla police outpost.
The Collector had advised the officers for a joint effort to tackle the situation as the problem is not limited to any specific Department. The departments should work in proper coordination. Pardeshi had stated that the people should be warned about movement of elephants on the route plan from where the elephants are expected to pass. In addition to this, the districts falling in the route should also be alerted so that they also work according to the route plan. The Collector had directed the officers of the Forest Department for assessment of the loss to provide compensation to the affected people.