Uttarakhand & Gujarat swapped jumbos despite Govt’

DEHRADUN: Gujarat and Uttarakhand's forest departments are alleged to have exchanged as many as six elephants in March this year, even though the Union ministry of environment (MoEF) had refused permission for such an initiative, reports Shivani Azad. The idea was to enhance patrolling at Corbett Tiger Reserve by getting mature elephants deemed fit for the task.
TOI has learnt through a senior officer in the state forest department that Uttarakhand sent three dwarf sub-adults less than 11 years old, and got three full-grown jumbos over 30 years of age from Gujarat. The trio is now safeguarding the southern boundaries of Corbett in Dhela and Jhirna zones.
The senior officer in the forest department, privy to the details, added, “The state had sought approval from the Centre but it turned it down, yet the exchange happened.”
In Gujarat, the jumbos were sent to an Ahmedabad-based private rescue centre, he said, adding that the exchange was done with “clearance from Gujarat’s chief wildlife warden”.
The then-chief wildlife warden of Uttarakhand, Parag Madhukar Dhakatey, in whose tenure the process took place, when queried about the matter, said, “In case of captive elephants’ transport and transfer, the chief wildlife warden is competent enough to give permission.”
Asian elephants are categorised “endangered” in the IUCN Red List of animals just like Bengal tigers and their exchange is not easily permissible. They are part of Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.