A top-level meeting chaired by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on February 12 (Monday) announced the formation of an inter-State committee comprising Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu officials to mitigate human-wildlife conflict in the Southern States.
Additional Chief Secretaries of the three States, which share contiguous forests, would head the committee. The meeting also tasked the Law and Revenue departments with working with the Advocate General to explore legal options to forcefully deter wild animals that pose an imminent threat to human lives.
Mr. Vijayan said the government would set up a command control centre to diminish wildlife intrusions into human habitations in Wayanad district of Kerala.
The police, revenue officials and forest officials would man the round-the-clock control room.
He also announced the formation of two rapid response teams comprising forest beat officers to respond to wildlife threats in Wayanad.
The teams would scour forests to monitor wildlife movement using drones, radio collar trackers and camera traps and make public announcements to warn citizens of wildlife incursions into human habitations and farmlands.
The government would clear the backlog of compensation for victims of wildlife attacks. Special teams compromising forest-dwellers, wildlife enforcers, and police would patrol Kerala’s forested border localities with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to monitor and record wildlife movement.
Mr. Vijayan will also hold a conference with elected representatives from the Wayanad district on February 15.
Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran, Chief Secretary V. Venu, Additional Chief Secretary, Forests, K.R. Jyothilal, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Biswanath Sinha, Chief Wild Life Warden Ganga Singh, Law Secretary K.G. Sanalkumar, Principal Secretary, Revenue, Tinku Biswal and State Police Chief Sheikh Darvez Sahib participated in the conference.
