VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Pradesh will get Rs 169.98 crore over five years under the proposed regional action plan to address human-elephant conflict (HEC), as the State faces increasing interaction among elephants, fragmented forests and agricultural landscapes.
The proposed allocation is based on a 17 per cent share assigned to Andhra Pradesh in the conflict-risk assessment under the Regional Action Plan for Comprehensive Understanding and Management of Human-Elephant Conflict in South India.
The report was prepared by the Project Elephant Division of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), and was recently released by Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan in Visakhapatnam on World Elephant Day.
The five-year action plan proposes a total financial outlay of Rs 999.87 crore for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Of this, Rs 500 crore is proposed as Central assistance, with Rs 480 crore earmarked for the four States and Rs 20 crore for the WII’s Elephant Cell for research, monitoring and evaluation.
State jumbo population increased to 142 in 2023
The State-wise shares were determined using a composite conflict-risk index based on elephant population, conflict intensity per 100 elephants and the geographical area of elephant distribution.
Karnataka accounts for 38 per cent, followed by Tamil Nadu at 25 per cent, Kerala at 20 per cent and Andhra Pradesh at 17 per cent. The report describes Andhra Pradesh as a relatively recent elephant range compared with the other southern States. Elephants are believed to have recolonised the State from the Hosur-Dharmapuri forests in the 1980s.
The estimated elephant population increased from 65 in 2017 to 142 in 2023. The main elephant-bearing areas are Chittoor, Tirupati and Annamayya districts, while smaller groups have been recorded in Srikakulam and Parvathipuram Manyam.
Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding forests are important elephant habitats.
However, agriculture, cattle grazing and fuelwood collection have increased pressure on these landscapes and brought elephants into closer contact with people.
The State recorded four human deaths in elephant-related incidents in 2019-20, six in 2020-21, none in 2021-22, five in 2022-23 and six in 2023-24.
Elephant deaths during the corresponding years were seven, four, four, five and 10 respectively.
Electrocution is identified as a major cause of unnatural elephant deaths.