SC asks WB govt to follow Centre's guidelines on management of human-elephant conflicts

The Supreme Court told the West Bengal government Tuesday to follow the Centre's guidelines on management of human-elephant conflicts to ensure a smooth movement of the animals and reduce the possibility of their death or damage of crops.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur said this after the counsel appearing for West Bengal said they were willing to abide by the "guidelines for management of human-elephants conflict" issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

The West Bengal government also said it would consult the Wildlife Institute of India on using new or commonly used methods to reduce the number of incidents of human-elephant conflict.

"No technology is available today to guide elephants. Unlike in Africa, in India, we have not mapped the corridors (for the movement of elephants). The corridors are changing. As of now, we only have the old technology of using a 'mashal' (fire torch) to guide the elephants. We are serious that we do not want any injury or death of elephants," the state's counsel said.

He added that the migration season of elephants would start soon and they would train people so that no injury was inflicted upon the pachyderms.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner, who had raised the issue of the use of spikes and fireballs in some states to drive away elephants, said "mashal" or fire should not be allowed to be used in the process.

"The problem is that animals are sensitive to fire and heat. Heat might lead to chaos among elephants or any other animals," the petitioner's lawyer said, adding, "Fire is not a solution."