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According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), a total of 186 elephants were killed after being hit by trains across India between 2009-10 and 2020-21.
Important points:
- Assam accounted for the highest number of elephant casualties on railway tracks (62), followed by West Bengal (57), and Odisha (27).
- Uttar Pradesh saw a single death.
Measures Taken:
- A Permanent Coordination Committee has been constituted between the Ministry of Railways and the MoEFCC for preventing elephant deaths in train accidents.
- Clearing vegetation along railway tracks to enable clear view for loco pilots, construction of underpass/overpass for safe passage of elephants, regular patrolling of vulnerable stretches of railway tracks, warning sign boards, etc.
- The MoEFCC has released Rs. 212.49 crore to elephant range States under the Project Elephant between 2011-12 and 2020-21.
- Elephant was declared a ‘national heritage animal’ in 2010, considering the valuable ecological services rendered by the species.
- Elephants are architects of the forest and woodland ecosystem (keystone species).
- Considered nature’s ‘gardener’, they are key in shaping the landscape, in pollination, germination of seeds and improving the fertility of forest soil with heaps of dung.
Project Elephant:
- It was launched in 1992 to provide financial and technical support to wildlife management efforts by states for their free ranging populations of wild Asian Elephants.
- It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).
- To protect elephants, their habitat & corridors.
- To address issues of man-animal conflict.
- Welfare of captive elephants.
Implementation:
- The Project is being mainly implemented in 16 States / UTs , viz. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal.
- Elephant census is conducted once in 5 years under the aegis of Project Elephant. Last Elephant Census was conducted in 2017.
- According to the Elephant Census 2017, India’s Asian elephant population is 27,312.
- The numbers are lower than from the last census estimate in 2012 (between 29,391 and 30,711).
- Karnataka has the highest number of elephants, followed by Assam and Kerala.
- There are around 32 Elephant Reserves in India. The very first elephant reserve was the Singhbhum Elephant Reserve of Jharkhand.
- Protection Status of Asian Elephants:
- IUCN Red List: Endangered.
- CITES: Appendix I
- India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES ,MINT
