*Schoolchildren in wildlife-affected areas to receive escort facility – Chief Minister*
*Chief Minister orders removal of Pauri DFO during Forest Department review meeting*
*Instructions also given to clear bushes near villages; team to reach the spot within 30 minutes of receiving information*
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, during a review meeting of the Forest Department at the Secretariat, instructed officials to make effective efforts at the level of the Forest Department as well as the government and administration to end human-wildlife conflict. It should be ensured that the Forest Department team reaches the spot within 30 minutes of receiving information about a human-wildlife conflict incident. The responsibility for this should be fixed on the concerned DFO and Ranger. Financial assistance should be provided to the affected people immediately.
The Chief Minister has directed the immediate removal of the Pauri DFO in view of the increasing incidents of human-wildlife conflict in Pauri.
The Chief Minister instructed the officials that in areas where there is a greater fear of wild animals, the Forest Department and the district administration should arrange for escorts to drop and pick up schoolchildren from school. To prevent families from facing financial difficulties if the earning member of a family dies in a human-wildlife conflict, the Forest Department should formulate a policy within two weeks to provide livelihood support to the affected family. The Chief Minister said that whatever equipment is needed to reduce human-wildlife conflict in the districts should be made available as soon as possible.
The Chief Minister said that our first responsibility is to save people’s lives from wild animals, and special attention should be paid to the use of new technology for this. Special attention should be given to finding permanent solutions to prevent wild animals from entering populated areas. Continuous monitoring should be maintained through cameras in areas sensitive to wildlife. Forest personnel should maintain constant vigilance and also strengthen their communication with the villagers. The Chief Minister said that wild bushes near settlements should be cleared through a campaign, and children and women should be especially made aware of the presence of wild animals in the vicinity. The meeting was attended by Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal, Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, Secretaries Shailesh Bagoli, Vinay Shankar Pandey, C Ravishankar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Shri Ranjan Mishra, and Additional Secretary Himanshu Khurana.
