Sunday, 11 December 2022 | PNS | DEHRADUN
State wildlife board approves proposal to re-establish Shivalik elephant reserve
Various important decision were taken it he 18th meeting of the State wildlife board presided over by the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami here on Saturday. The board decided that in case of a death of a person in human-wildlife conflict, the next of kin of the deceased will receive Rs six lakh instead of Rs four lakh while financial assistance for those injured in human-wildlife conflict will be Rs one lakh instead of the earlier amount of Rs 50,000. Further, a corpus fund of Rs two crore will be formed for facilitating compensation in human-wildlife conflict cases. In another major decision, the board approved the proposal for re-establishing the Shivalik elephant reserve.
It was also decided in the meeting of the State wildlife board that a Jim Corbett trail will be established in the State. To bring places linked to Jim Corbett on the international tourism map, a work plan will be prepared with the cooperation of the Tourism department. The plan will include placing a sign board at the identified location, renovation of trekking routes and boosting home stays. The chief minister said that these works should be started in a phased manner. Further, it was decided that Chaurasi Kutia located in Rajaji tiger reserve will be developed to international standards as this area is important from the view point of tourism. This task will be undertaken with the cooperation of the Tourism department. The board also decided that as per the announcements made by the chief minister, a 12.9 kilometre motor road will be built from Dhaula to Veri Seva Dokhri in Mori block of Purola Assembly constituency in Uttarkashi district and a five kilometre Pulinda-Tachhali-Shalinga motor road will be built in Dugadda block of Pauri district. To encourage Yoga and tourism, a museum will be built at Rambada and a contemplation point will be built at Chhoti Lincholi.
During the meeting the chief minister told the officials that more effective measures are needed to resolve the problem of human-wildlife conflict. The Forest department and the administration will have to work in a coordinated manner for this purpose, he said. After the information of human-wildlife conflict incident is received, the financial assistance should be provided within a period of 15 days. Dhami directed the officials to ensure that nobody has to make rounds of government offices unnecessarily. He further said that special focus should be laid on conservation of the Bugyals (high altitude alpine meadows). Stating that effective measures are necessary to tackle the damage being caused to agricultural crops by monkeys, he said that an elaborate work plan should be prepared for this purpose. Forest department officials should also seek the cooperation of the people for forest conservation and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict as various problems can be resolved with the participation of the public. Special focus should also be laid on bio-fencing, said the chief minister. Stressing on the need for moving forward while balancing ecology and economy, he said that focus on development should be laid only along with environmental balance. Dhami further said that special stress should be laid on water conservation, adding that special efforts are needed to address the issue of climate change.
Forest miniter Subodh Uniyal said that public cooperation is vital for protecting the forests. He said that more efforts are needed to increase the livelihood of people through forests. The minister also informed that the population of snow leopard in Uttarakhand has increased from 86 to 121 in the past five years.
Principal chief conservator of forests Vinod Kumar Singhal, chief wildlife warden Samir Sinha and other members of the board were also present in the meeting.
