DEHRADUN: In view of the increasing incidents of human-wildlife conflict in the state, the government has announced on Saturday to increase the compensation amount to the families of those who have been killed by wild animals, from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh.
At the 18th meeting of the Uttarakhand State Wildlife Board, chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, it was also decided to increase the amount given to those who get seriously injured in such incidents from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. A corpus fund of Rs 2 crore will be created for giving compensation to the victims of man-animal conflicts, the government said.
According to the official statement, the Jim Corbett Trail will be established in the state and an action plan will be prepared in collaboration with the Department of Tourism to bring the sites associated with Jim Corbett on the world tourism map.
It will include construction of plaques at various locations connected to Jim Corbett, renovation of track routes and promotion of home stays. The proposal for renovation of Shivalik Elephant Reserve was approved.
The Chief Minister expressed happiness that the number of snow leopards in the state has increased from 86 to 121 in the last five years. Dhami directed the officials that more effective efforts are needed to reduce human-wildlife conflict. For this, the forest department and the administration will have to work in harmony.
As soon as the incident of human-wildlife conflict is reported, the concerned persons should receive the compensation amount within 15 days. CM also spoke about conservation of “Bugyals”, and of more public cooperation for conservation of forests and reducing human-wildlife conflict.
Public should be brought on board
Public cooperation is very important to save forests and forest wealth. More efforts are needed to enhance the livelihood of people from forests.