Karnataka Budget: Mitigation of man-elephant conflict, rehabilitation centres for wounded animals get priority
CM Siddaramaiah allocates funds for railway barricades installation, 2 new elephant task forces
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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presents the first state Budget of his government in Assembly, in Bengaluru (PTI Photo) Karnataka allocated Rs 120 crore for the installation of 208 km of railway barricades to mitigate man-elephant conflict. The announcement was made by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah while presenting the budget on Wednesday (July 7). He said that 312 km of 520 km of barricades have already been installed.
State Environment and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre in June had proposed to the government to allocate funds for expediting the installation of railway barricading.
In his budget presentation, the CM announced a slew of measures to tackle the increasing incidents of man-conflict, such as setting up two new elephant task forces in Ramanagara and Bannerghatta.
“To control man elephant conflict, elephant task forces have been set up in Mysuru, Mandya, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan and Kodagu districts and in the current year, two new elephant task forces will be set up in Ramanagara and Bannerghatta area,” Siddaramaiah said.
Commenting on the budget, Khandre said, “As an environment and forest minister I thank the CM for allocating Rs 120 crore for the installation of barricades and the announcement of elephant task forces.”
Siddaramaiah also announced that measures will be taken to strengthen the rehabilitation centres at Bannerghatta and Mysuru which are responsible for the protection and care of the wounded and sick animals rescued during man-animal conflicts. Two new rehabilitation centres at Shivamogga and Belagavi will also be set up.
A new conservation reserve for Blackbucks in Bidar will come up at a cost of Rs 2 crore. “As Bidar district is home to large numbers of Blackbucks, a Blackbuck Conservation Reserve will be declared for their protection. For the protection and management of this conservation reserve, Rs 2 crore will be earmarked,” the CM said.
As part of its commitment towards the environment, the state government’s Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI) has been given the task to undertake assessment of all major schemes of the government and ensure environmental balance.
“To promote decarbonisation of the economy and encourage green growth, a scheme will be commenced for the voluntary disclosure of Green House Gases (GHGs) by the organisations in the state,” Siddaramaiah said.
A new programme called ‘Sasya Shamala’ will be launched under which 50 lakh saplings will be planted in and around schools in collaboration with the Karnataka Forest Department this year.
“100 Forest Products Processing Units will be established in tribal areas with the collaboration of TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation) for processing and promoting forest products,” the CM announced.
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