The Supreme Court has asked all states to treat human‑wildlife conflict as a potential “natural disaster” and pressed for faster relief and clearer administrative responsibility, directing that states consider the classification to enable rapid access to disaster management resources. While hearing a case on ecological damage linked to the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve, a bench also held that states must provide Rs 10 lakh ex‑gratia compensation for every human death caused by wildlife, as mandated under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS‑IDWH) scheme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), and stressed that compensation must be released quickly without local-level hassles that erode public trust.
The order responds to a rising crisis driven by habitat loss, climate change and a growing population, which has pushed humans and wildlife into frequent contact across the country. These interactions have resulted in significant loss of life and injury, damaged livelihoods, undermined food security and posed a severe threat to biodiversity and conservation efforts.
Kerala moved ahead of the Court’s judgment, formally declaring human‑wildlife conflict (HWC) a “state‑specific disaster” in May 2025 to accelerate relief, compensation and mitigation measures. The state is the first in India to permit use of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for casualties, property damage and injury caused by wildlife. HWC has been a major election issue in Kerala, particularly in plantation belts, and has sparked protests after what authorities and activists describe as more than 900 wildlife‑related deaths over eight years. Government figures cited in the state show 1,527 animal‑related deaths in the past 15 years (including 276 from elephant attacks); Wayanad alone recorded 149 deaths and over 1,000 injuries from animal attacks since 2014, of which 41 were attributed to elephants. Kerala has paid more than Rs 79 crore in compensation over the past six years for deaths, injuries and crop damage.
In Assam, human‑elephant conflict (HEC) has intensified across more than 20 districts, with Golaghat, Nagaon, Goalpara and Udalguri among the worst hit. Rapid deforestation, habitat fragmentation and expansion of plantations, industry, mining and infrastructure have severed traditional elephant routes, forcing herds into settled areas and increasing deadly encounters. Assam Forest Department data cited in the report show 875 people killed by elephants from 2010 to 2020 and roughly 825 elephants killed in the same period; in the most recent year referenced, 81 people and 48 elephants died.
Despite the scale of the crisis, HWC and HEC have drawn little attention in Assam’s election campaigns, where longstanding narratives-identity, immigration, land rights, floods, unemployment and populist benefit schemes-continue to dominate. Observers say that when affected communities do not press candidates for long‑term solutions, the issue risks being sidelined by short‑term politics. The Supreme Court’s directive aims to speed relief and restore confidence, but its impact will depend on timely disbursal of compensation and sustained investment in habitat protection, corridors and community‑centred mitigation.
Original Source: https://nenow.in/environment/hec-emergency-in-assam-disappears-from-collective-memory-as-polls-near.html
Category: Assam,Environment,Northeast News,Top News
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Publish Date: 2026-03-28 23:30:00
