MADURAI: The Madurai bench of Madras High Court on Friday sought a report from the state forest department on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed demanding trenches and solar fencing in forest boundaries at the foothills of the Western Ghats in Kadayam, Kadayanallur and Courtallam areas to protect villagers and crops from wild animal attacks.
The litigant, S Vincent of Tirunelveli, stated in his petition that the people of these areas mainly depended on agriculture for livelihood. Their major agricultural produce include rice, coconut, mango, banana and sugarcane, he added. The areas have, howerver, been facing human-wildlife conflicts, which have increased in the recent past, with both people and crops coming under attack from wild animals, mainly elephants, wild boars and bears, Vincent stated. In some incidents, the villagers lost their livelihood or have become permanently disabled, he added.
While the government compensates farmers for loss of crops due to land acquisition, the same is not given when the damage is due to human-animal conflicts, Vincent alleged. Seeking the court’s intervention to protect the interest of the people, he sought the above direction as a lasting solution to the issue. A bench of justices R Subramanian and L Victoria Gowri issued notice to the authorities concerned and directed them to file a report before the next hearing on April 10.