School children in wildlife-affected areas will be provided with escort facilities. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami gave necessary instructions to officials during a review meeting of the Forest Department today. During the meeting, he directed the immediate transfer of the Pauri Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in view of the increasing incidents of human-wildlife conflict in Pauri.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, during the review meeting of the Forest Department at the Secretariat, emphasized the need for effective efforts at both the Forest Department and the administrative levels to end human-wildlife conflict. He stated that it should be ensured that the Forest Department team reaches the site 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 transfer 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 off and pick up schoolchildren from school.
Instructions to formulate a policy within two weeks
CM Dhami said that 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 families. He said that whatever equipment is needed to reduce human-wildlife conflict in the districts should be made available as soon as possible.
The CM said that our first responsibility is to protect 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 around the settlements should be cleared through a special campaign, and children and women should be made especially aware of the presence of wild animals in the surrounding areas.
