Victim families of elephant’s rage have urged the government for parity in compensation. On killing of a member of a family by elephant the bereaved family gets an ex gratia relief to the tune of ` 2.50 lakhs.
However, this ex gratia relief is Rs 4 lakh when lightning kills a person minor or adult. Victims of elephant’s rage have demanded a hike in this ex gratia relief.
Sources said this issue was raised in the last meeting of the Tiger Foundation held in Betla where a couple of forest rangers pointed out this disparity in the quantum of ex gratia relief.
Field Director PTR M P Singh when apprised of this disparity in the quantum of ex gratia relief given to victims of elephant’s wrath said ‘ This matter will be taken up in the Tiger Foundation meeting whose chairman is the state chief minister’.
Sources said there is one more problem with the victims. It is the destruction and damage of the standing crops by the elephants.
Here too crop compensation is given per acre of destruction and damage by elephants to the khet owners in whose names are the land records..
Sources said the problem here is the crop compensation is given to the land owner in whose name is the field, standing crop and lagan receipts are booked by the revenue and land reforms officials.
However there are acres and acres of khet where share cropping is done which means the land owner does not do any kheti baree but in his place the agricultural activities are done by some other poor farmer who does not get any crop damage compensation in the event of destruction and damages by herd of elephants or by loneelephant simply because the khet does not belong to him in official record.
Sources said thus the share cropper feels most cheated as for whom he so tills the khet, raises crop denies him the share of the compensation given by the PTR officials.
Betla Ranger of PTR Nathuni Singh had pointedly raised this issue before the field director M P Singh who too agreed that this issue is a complex one as compensation will be due legitimately to the owner of the khet only and not to anyone who so does the farming on it.