NEW DELHI: A high-powered committee, constituted by the Tripura High Court, has recommended transfer of 23 elephants from Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura to animal rescue centre in Gujarat, run by Shri Radhe Krishna Temple, Elephant Welfare Trust The 70-page report of the committee, accessed by this newspaper, praised the rescue centre as “world class”.
It also recommended that all states consider transferring captive elephants that are abandoned or required to be rescued from any situation of cruelty to this rescue centre. It also directed Chief Wild Life Wardens of Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh to take adequate and proper steps to ensure that no young elephants are captured from the wild.
The five-member panel was formed in the first week of November last year after a public interest litigation filed in the Tripura High Court seeking an inquiry into the past transfers and transportation of captive-bred elephants. It also sought a restrain on the transfer and transportation of these animals from North-East to the Elephant Welfare Trust.
The committee had visited the rescue centre. It had formed another three-member sub-committee, headed by Dr M Selvan - Scientist, Elephant Cell, to visit the sites of elephants in Arunachal and Tripura. The Sub-Committee found that all 23 elephants required care and have had past injuries. They lacked food and are left in open to fend for themselves.
“On a comparative analysis, there is no doubt that it would be in the interest of the elephants to be allowed to be transferred to the said camp,” said the sub-committee. While wildlife conservationists criticised the report saying it is silent on the age, status of elephants and whether it was captive born or wild caught. Country needs decentralised rescue centres instead of one centre in Gujarat, which never be a natural habitat, they said.
“Why are these 23 elephants only selected in particular is not explained and how did the proceedings for these 23 elephants to be transferred to Jamnagar began is not explained either?” wondered a senior official associated with the development.
The panel was chaired by Justice (retd) Deepak Verma. Director General of Forests, Head of Project, Elephant Division in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Member Secretary, Central Zoo Authority of India, Chief Wild Life Warden of Tripura and Chief Wild Life Warden of Gujarat were the members of the panel. Later, the committee added an expert on elephants as a member.
In March, the Supreme Court extended the committee’s jurisdiction to pan-India level.
Conservationists flay report
While wildlife conservationists criticised the report saying it is silent on the age, status of elephants and whether it was captive born or wild caught. Country needs decentralised rescue centres instead of one centre in Gujarat, which never be a natural habitat, they said