The State government has announced that the compensation awarded to the families of forest martyrs will be increased from ₹30 lakh to ₹50 lakh. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai made the announcement after paying respect to martyrs on the occasion of the National Forest Martyrs’ Day on Sunday.
He said that enhancing the compensation amount would provide more financial security for the dependent family members. “During his tenure as Chief Minister, B.S. Yediyurappa had increased the compensation from ₹20 lakh to ₹30 lakh. The State government on compassionate grounds is doing the welfare of the dependents of martyrs,” he said.
On afforestation activities, Mr. Bommai said the government was aiming to increase the forest cover from 21% to 30%. “In the State, barren forests spread over 4 lakh hectares. Afforestation activities can be taken up in these land,” he said. He added that through budgetary allocation ₹100 crore would be spent on afforestation activities.
To reduce man-animal conflict, the government had allocated ₹100 crore. He instructed the Forest Department authorities to strive hard to bring down man-animal conflict.
“There is a need to bring down man-animal conflicts. There have been repeated incidents of elephants entering villages located near the forests. In Bandipur forest, measures have been taken to bring down the man-animal conflict through innovative measures,” said the Chief Minister. He recalled the contributions made by the former Forest Minister Umesh Katti who died recently. “Umesh Katti visited forests by travelling across the State. He did not succumb to any pressure while discharging his duties,” he said.
He appealed to the public to coexist with nature and pass on the resources to future generations. “Climatic changes are resulting in extreme weather conditions. In the interest of future generations, we have to protect the forests. If we fail to discharge our duties, the coming generation will be deprived of their rights of having pure water and air. We should not snatch their rights,” he said.
