Stringent penalty for wildlife crimes in the offing

A bill seeking to provide stringent penalty for wildlife crimes like in cases of money laundering and foreign exchange violation, would be introduced in the Budget Session of Parliament, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said today.

Stressing on the need to make the law a deterrent for wildlife offenders, he said, "The amendments are being circulated. One of the main provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill is to steeply increase the fine, as the present penalty is laughable".

"The time has come to send a strong signal that those who break the Wildlife Protection Act should be treated as those who violate the Foreign Exchange Act or Money Laundering Act as suggested by senior counsel Harish Salve," he said at a workshop on media and wildlife conservation here.

On the occasion, he also released a "green book" giving details of wildlife conservationists. The book has been compiled by Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India. Ramesh said that the second initiative in the amendment is to improve or increase space available to researchers in wildlife conservationists to carry out their scientific work.

"We need not look at them as an enemy of wildlife conservation and management but as scientists contributing to the welfare of the wildlife," the Minister said while stressing the need to make the field as an attractive option for entrants at the management level.

Though he did not give details of the proposed amendments in the Act, sources said that a hefty fine of Rs one crore has been proposed and irrespective of the nature of the offence, the cases will be referred to the session judges for speedy trial.

Ramesh said a meeting will be held with the concerned stakeholders tomorrow on the proposed amendments after which comments from the public will be invited. "By the Budget Session, we would be in a position to present these amendments of the Wildlife Protection Act 1997," he said.

A senior official said that though the existing Act had some provisions to curb hunting and trade, the amendments focus on busting illegal wildlife trade and deterring unscrupulous dealers and traders from exploiting flora and fauna covered under the Act.

With an aim to widen the ambit of the Act, various new sections have been inserted with a major one being regulation of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora, banning trade in exotic species.

Moreover, the wildlife offences, depending on the seriousness of their nature and occurrence, have been classified in four categories. The offences in category I have been made cognisable, non-bailable and to be tried by the sessions judge to ensure speedy trial, where the offender will have to face a minimum five-year jail term to be be extendable to seven years and a penalty of Rs five lakh to be increased to Rs one crore, the sources said.