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Journalism of Courage
Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s recent statement that she “will not initiate” an amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 runs contrary to the stance taken by the Congress and CPI(M) in Kerala on wildlife-human conflict in the state.
After meeting the family of a tribal woman in Wayanad who was killed by a tiger recently, Priyanka told the media on Tuesday that “everybody is taking all possible efforts to safeguard human lives”. On the demand to amend the Wildlife Protection Act, Priyanka said, “I will not initiate a change in law, but I will raise (in Parliament) the needs of the people. I will raise the demand for adequate funding for mitigation.”
This statement comes amid the Congress-led United Democratic Front’s protest march in the hilly regions of the state, covering all hotspots of man-animal conflict, in protest against the alleged failure of the state government and the Centre to protect the lives and livelihood of the people living in those areas. Most areas covered by the yatra are strongholds of the Congress and its allies. The Congress is looking to reach out to people in these areas as resentment grows over the government’s management of the wildlife threat.
The charter of demands that the Congress has put forth includes amendments to various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to simplify procedures for dealing with wild animals posing a threat to human life and culling animals after declaring them as vermin.
The UDF sees the issue as a major political plank in the local body elections that will be held later this year. Of the 900-odd village panchayats in Kerala, around 450 panchayats bear the brunt of wildlife attacks. The Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency saw five deaths from wildlife attacks last month. When Priyanka visited Wayanad on Tuesday, CPI(M) workers gathered with black flags and raised the issue of amending the Wildlife Protection Act.
The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has found the opportunity to target the Congress over Priyanka’s statements to redirect attention to it for poor mitigation of wildlife attacks.
On Thursday, state forest minister A K Saseendran said the UDF does not understand why it is conducting a hill agitation yatra. “Priyanka has not blamed the LDF regime or the forest department. She spoke on the issue in a realistic manner,” he said.
The Congress has tacitly played down Priyanka’s stand. Addressing the hill agitation yatra at Meppadi in Wayanad recently, Opposition leader V D Satheesan, who is leading it, said: “The state government has the responsibility to ensure protection for human life and livelihood. The wildlife protection laws require amendment. I assure you that Congress MPs, including Priyanka, will fight for that.”
Amendments Kerala wants
In February 2024, the Kerala Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union Government to amend relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act to address the escalating human-animal conflict in the state.
Kerala wants to amend Section 11(1)(A) of the Wildlife Protection Act to devolve the powers from the Chief Wildlife Warden to Chief Conservators of Forests (CCF) instead. Such an amendment, the state feels, will simplify procedures for dealing with wild animals posing a threat to human life, by enabling speedy and timely decisions at a more localised level. Kerala has five CCFs, each in charge of a different region.
Kerala also wants the Centre to declare wild boar as vermin through section 62 of the Wildlife Protection Act. According to this section, the Union Government can notify any wild animal in Schedule II of the Act (which protects it from hunting), as vermin for a period of time in an area or state.
