Between 2009 and 2019, 600 elephants died in India due to electrocution, according to data from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
In total, 116 people died in Karnataka, 117 in Odisha, and 105 in Assam. The only states with no such deaths are Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, and Maharashtra.
In recent years, Karnataka has reported the majority of unnatural elephant deaths. The number has decreased, but only on an annual basis. However, electrocution is the cause of death in 5-6 cases of jumbos.
Four jumbos died in Kodagu in June 2021, and two male elephants died in Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta National Park in October 2020 due to electrocution.
Elephants are killed when they come into contact with private landowners’ electric fence lines.
Government’s Projects:
Under the “Project Elephant” scheme, the government has been providing financial and technical assistance to elephant range states and union territories.
Project Elephant was established in 1992 to provide financial and technical assistance to states’ wildlife management efforts to protect wild Asian elephants.
Ex-gratia relief is also provided under the scheme in the event of human death or injury, property damage, or crop loss.
It’s a Government-Sponsored Program (CSS). The following goals are being pursued by the scheme:
- Elephants, their habitat, and their corridors are being protected.
- Man-animal conflict is being addressed.
- Elephants in captivity’s well-being.
Implementation
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Karnataka, Nagaland, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Uttarakhand, Tripura, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh are among the 16 states and union territories where Project Elephant is being implemented.
