Set up statutory body to assess damage by wildlife: Tiwari

Nagpur: Chairman of the task force on farm distress Kishore Tiwari has demanded that the Union government should set up a constitutional commission to assess damage caused to life, livestock and crops by protected wild animals.
“A law should be passed in Parliament so as to formulate a permanent mechanism to mitigate losses suffered by farmers living around reserved and protected forests from where animals regularly stray out and damage crops, kill cattle or people,” Tiwari said in a statement released on Tuesday. The move comes in the wake of hue and cry raised by politicians and activists over shooting of tigress T1 (Avni) recently.

“The activists and wildlife lovers living in safe confines of large cities far away from jungles should know that while wildlife and forests are very important, lives and safety of people living near forests are also equally important, if not more. The damage caused by wild animals to crops is to the tune of crores across the country and hundreds of people lose life in attacks by predators from jungles every year,” Tiwari pointed out.

“Such loss of crop, property and kin is one of the reasons that drive farmers to suicide in Vidarbha and Marthwada regions. But there seems to be no law to provide even pay without hassles the compensation to the affected people,” said Tiwari. He said a statutory body should be set up under Articles 39, 43 and 48(A) of Constitution.

Claiming that he had already sent a dossier to Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving list of lives lost and crop and other losses caused by wildlife, Tiwari said the Central law should empower states to address the issue at ground level.

On Sunday, a meeting of villagers who lost lives in tiger, wildlife attacks was organized at Borati village in Yavatmal where the villagers demanded that the government should protect their fundamental right to live while conserving wildlife and forests.