Approve action plan for jumbo protection: Orissa HC

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Monday endorsed the draft comprehensive action plan prepared by the Joint Task Force (JTF) for protection of elephants in Odisha and directed the chief secretary to ensure it is taken up without delay and approved by the high-power committee within two weeks.

The division bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice M S Raman said, “This is to ensure that the action plan is immediately rolled out and action points are worked out on the basis of such action plan that has been drawn up after consulting a wide range of experts and the inputs of others as suggested by the court.”

The court was hearing four similar PILs filed by Gita Rout (in 2022), Mrinalini Padhi (in 2015), Balgopal Mishra (in 2013) and Dwija Dalpati (in 2015) highlighting the serious issue concerning deaths of elephants on account of illegal poaching.

The bench issued the direction after taking note of the affidavit chief conservator of forests (Wildlife) and chairman Joint Task Force (JTF) Manoj Nair had filed enclosing the ‘Comprehensive action plan for conservation of elephants and mitigation of human-elephant conflict in Odisha’.

The bench posted the matter to March 13 for further consideration while seeking from the JTF an affidavit containing the action points drawn up on the basis of the comprehensive action plan.According to the affidavit, the action plan envisaged a ‘Ten Pillared Strategy’ including 17 long term, 10 medium term and 158 short term measures.

The action plan also envisaged ‘zone-based approach’ including four zones - elephant conservation zone, elephant-human co-existence zones, conflict mitigation zone and elephant removal/exclusion zone.

In order to tackle the issue of increased death of elephants due to electrocution, the action plan proposed involvement of power distribution companies to provide solar fencing using the recently launched Jana Surakhya and Gaja Sathi schemes.Use of portable or removable solar fences (which have been found to be effective in Sri Lanka) in selected areas, the affidavit said.