NEW DELHI, NOV.8 . The Government has disbursed Rs. 5.41 crores for mitigation of man-elephant conflict across the country. While this amount was spent on anti-depredation measures, another Rs. 1.91 crores was spent on providing ex-gratia relief to the victims of "elephant violence" last year.
Human-elephant conflict continues to be a serious problem in most part of the country with about 240 people reportedly killed in the last two years. Wild elephants also caused great damage to crops and houses.
While retaliatory killings by electrocution and poisoning are often reported, the problem is now being tackled by constructing elephant-proof barriers (trenches and energised fencing), deploying trained elephants, engaging specially-equipped squads, distributing crackers and searchlights among villagers, and by capturing or eliminating troublesome elephants under `Project Elephant'.
Project Elephant also started a programme during 2002-03 in Delhi, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh for the registration of domesticated elephants by using microchips. About 700 elephants have been "micro-chipped" so far and the programme extended to other parts of the country as well, sources in the Environment and Forests Ministry said.
Launched in February 1992 for providing financial and technical support, , Project Elephant is also aimed at the mitigation of human-elephant conflict and welfare of domesticated pachyderms. The States receiving financial assistance under the project include Uttarachal, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Project Elephant has, since its inception, released Rs. 74.64 crores as grants-in-aid to various States and the project's outlay for the Tenth Plan is Rs. 60 crores. For the current financial year, it has a target of Rs. 12.65 crores with Rs. 2 crores earmarked for the North-Eastern States.
Survey's show that while the general trend of pachyderm population in the country is positive, the North-Eastern States have shown a decline. There were 25,604 elephants in 1993, 25,877 in 1997 and 26,413 in 2002. Poaching is on the decline as only 30 tuskers were killed in 2003-04 as against 38 in 2002-03, 43 in 2001-02, 61 in 2000-01, 62 in 1999-2000, 66 in 1998-99, 72 in 1996-97 and 75 in 1995-96.
Project Elephant has also undertaken a programme for focussed and systematic management of elephants in their habitats. Since 2001, it has set up 24 elephant reserves in Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Uttaranchal, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Two more reserves — one each in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland are in the pipeline.
The project has initiated a special drive since 2002-03, in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India, for capacity building of the officers and field staff of the Elephant Reserves. This year, Project Elephant initiated a programme for the regular and systematic monitoring of elephants in the wild under the Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) programme of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Specials (CITES). Ten sensitive sites have been identified for the purpose.
