Elephant deaths: Orissa HC seeks detailed plan from JTF
Elephant deaths: Orissa HC seeks detailed plan from JTF
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Bhubaneswar: The Orissa High Court on Tuesday urged the joint task force (JTF) formed to avoid unnatural elephant deaths in the state to devise a comprehensive solution to the matter.
The task committee has also been instructed to include crop loss caused by the man-elephant conflict in the strategy. If such a plan exists, it has been directed to disclose the timescale for resolving compensation claims as well as the amount that has been disbursed thus far. By January 18, 2023, the task force will submit a report on the execution of its strategy.
After reviewing the affidavit filed by Odisha's Chief Conservator of Forests, Dr Manoj V Nair, who is also the task force's convener, on Tuesday, the court instructed JTF to address the matter of preventive measures taken to prevent elephant deaths on tracks.
According to the affidavit, all elephant routes in Odisha will be mapped, and people living near them would be educated on how to safeguard the pachyderms. A draught comprehensive action plan (CAP) to reduce elephant deaths from packing, electrocution, and train accidents has been prepared and will be fully executed by December of this year. It stated that the electricity distribution companies had already been consulted about the elephant deaths caused by electrocution.
The two-judge bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice MS Raman, on the other hand, stated that on the next date of hearing, the court expects a more detailed granular action plan on each of the two aspects (electrocution deaths and poaching cases).
