Taking cognisance of the rising incidents of human-wildlife conflict in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced a series of measures, including the installation of solar fencing and sensor-based alert systems, the establishment of modern wildlife sterilisation centres, and the setting up of rehabilitation centres at the district level.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Dhami said that multiple cases of conflict between humans and wildlife have been reported across the state. He noted that in areas where animals such as elephants, nilgai, bears, leopards, monkeys and others damage agricultural and horticultural crops, infrastructure and human life, a phased and well-planned security mechanism will be developed. As part of this mechanism, solar fencing and sensor-based alert systems will be introduced to effectively mitigate such conflicts.
The Chief Minister said that to control the population of wildlife including langurs, monkeys, wild boars and bears, modern wildlife sterilisation (animal birth control) centres will be established under the Forest Department in every district. He added that rescue and rehabilitation centres for identified wildlife involved in human-wildlife conflict will also be set up across the state. For this purpose, a minimum of 10 nali of land in hilly forest areas and at least one acre of land in plain forest areas will be earmarked.
Highlighting the urgency of the initiatives, Dhami said all the proposed works would be taken up on a priority basis, and a detailed implementation strategy would be presented within two weeks. He also announced an additional allocation of Rs 5 crore to the Forest Department for procuring essential equipment such as nets, cages, tranquilisation guns and other resources.
The Chief Minister further said that to ensure effective prevention of human-wildlife conflict, powers under relevant provisions of the Central Wildlife Protection Act would be decentralised to empower Forest Department officers at the ranger level to take timely action against dangerous wildlife. Necessary amendments to the rules would be made wherever required. He also informed that he had recently discussed the issue with Union Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav.
