BENGALURU: Forest, environment and ecology minister Eshwar Khandre on Thursday justified the decision of Karnataka government of agreeing to give Rs 15 lakh to the family of deceased Ajeesh from Wayanad.
Khandre said it has been done on the request of Rahul Gandhi, MP from Wayanad, and on humanitarian grounds. The amount has not yet been paid, it will be done soon.
He questioned why there was prejudice and inhumanity among people. “When the central government announced to give relief to Afghanistan, why wasn’t it questioned. Is there no poverty in India? When the fire cracker blast incident happened in Attibele, why nobody questioned when Tamil Nadu announced a compensation. When there was a rail accident in Orrisa, the Prime Minister announced a relief fund, why isn’t any one questioning that?” he asked.
He was speaking to TNIE on the sidelines of the month long campaign - The Great Elephant Migration, launched by Coexistence Collective (a range of conservation organisations promoting human- wildlife coexistence) in collaboration with the Forest, Ecology and Environment and Horticulture Departments. The campaign was launched on February 3. Apart from placing 100 lantana elephants in Lal Bagh, on Thursday, a gaur, made by the team of 150 indigenous artisans from Soliga, Bettakurumba, Kattunayakan, and Paniya Communities tribes are on display.
The minister also said, when a collared pet dog bites a neighbour, the owner is penalised. The elephant was radio collared and identified in Karnataka. So it is the responsibility of the state to compensate, and there is nothing wrong with it. It is similar to each one contributing to an earthquake or Tsunami.
Pointing out that lantana is a menace in the forests and is leading to rise in man-animal conflict, Khandre said, around 50% of the forest landscape is infested with lantana. He said Rs 50 lakh to Rs one crore will be set aside to provide assistance to tribals on clearing lantana and supporting artisans in making lantana crafts. He also asked industries and corporates to come forward in supporting clearing lantana and using lantana made items that will help increase demand. The forest department will also provide all sort of assistance to tribals in selling their lantana products.