Mumbai, June 23 (SocialNews.XYZ) In a major move to mitigate human-wildlife conflict, Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik announced in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that the state government has drafted a proposal to provide permanent government jobs to the next of kin of citizens killed in wild animal attacks.
The decision will be implemented immediately upon receiving clearance from the state cabinet.
In an unusual measure to ensure carnivores find enough prey within forest limits and do not stray into human habitats, Minister Naik also announced that the state will set up rabbit farms modelled after poultry farms. Additionally, the government will aggressively fast-track the breeding of deer species.
The announcements came during a discussion on a calling-attention motion raised by MLAs Atul Bhatkhalkar, Sudhir Mungantiwar, and others regarding the rising tide of wildlife attacks, particularly a recent incident in Chandrapur district where four women harvesting Tendu leaves were killed by a tiger.
According to the minister, 55 fatalities were reported across the state. The government has identified 10 highly sensitive districts. The government has approved the Rs 260 crore action plan.
Expressing concern over the frequency of these incidents, Bhatkhalkar noted that human-wildlife conflict is no longer sporadic but has become an almost daily crisis.
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar pointed out the stark socio-economic divide, saying that while wealthy tourists spend thousands to catch a glimpse of tigers, poor locals living on the forest fringes are losing their lives. Wadettiwar demanded that surplus tigers be relocated and that the density of apex predators match the forests' actual carrying capacity.
In response to the demands, Forest Minister Naik outlined a comprehensive expansion strategy to balance the state’s soaring wildlife population. A new Tadoba-style forest zone spanning 5,500 hectares will be developed in Nashik to alleviate the load on existing reserves.
Over the next 42 months, several new sanctuaries will be established to systematically redistribute roughly 450 tigers. Extensive bamboo plantations will serve as bio-fences to prevent animals from entering human settlements.
Preparations for this are underway across Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Satara, Kolhapur, and parts of the Marathwada region, said Minister Naik.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sudhir Mungantiwar highlighted bureaucratic delays in disbursing compensation to affected families, noting that, despite a 30-day window, families rarely receive the money on time due to slow fund releases from the Finance Department.
To bypass this hurdle, Mungantiwar demanded the implementation of a Negative Authorisation system. Minister Naik accepted the demand and announced that emergency relief funds will henceforth be directly accessible at the District Collector’s level, ensuring compensation reaches victimised families without administrative delays.
Source: IANS
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