Mapping of elephant corridors not done ‘properly’ in Odisha, says wildlife expert Sukumar

It would be one of the issues taken up by the newly-formed Joint Task Force, said Manoj Nair, Odisha Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife)

A group of elephants going back to the forest after a dip in the pond near Balikiari in Cuttack district during the recently concluded census in Odisha. | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Amid reports of rampant elephant deaths due to man-elephant conflicts in Odisha, the Orissa High Court was informed that the mapping of the elephant corridors in the State had not been done ‘properly’. Noted wildlife expert Raman Sukumar, who specializes in the elephant movement, informed the High Court that the elephant corridors had not been identified scientifically in Odisha.

Best known for his work on wildlife-human conflict, the Tamil Nadu-born ecologist Sukumar participated online while the High Court adjudicated over a batch of writ petitions on the subject on Tuesday. Highlighting several issues on the subject, Mr. Sukumar was very critical on the mapping of the elephant corridors of Odisha upon which the Odisha Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Manoj Nair assured the Court that the matter would be taken up by the newly-formed Joint Task Force (JTF).

“The JTF will examine the action plan that was put in place in the State of Karnataka while dealing with similar issues as well as the “East Central India Elephant Action Plan”, he said adding that the JTF would be addressing the issues by involving the local population. According to him, the electricity distribution companies had already been consulted to address the issues of elephant deaths on account of electrocution, which had been happening in great frequency in the recent past.

On the issue of elephant poaching, Mr. Nair assured that concrete action would be taken to bring the criminal cases to a logical end by having timelines for the completion of an investigation, filing of charge sheets, and pursuing the trial till completion. The Division Bench headed by Chief Justice S. Muralidhar however, expected that a more detailed granular action plan on each of these aspects giving specific timelines would be placed before the Court by the next date on January 18, 2023.

The Bench also comprising Justice M. S. Raman impressed upon the JTF that they should address two other issues such as preventive measures to be adopted in order to avoid deaths of elephants due to rail accidents, and a comprehensive compensation scheme to address the issue of crop and vegetable loss as well that to human lives, and injuries suffered as a result of the man-animal conflict.