JAIPUR: The Rajasthan government is mulling increase in compensation to villagers in case wild animals kill their livestock. The amount may be doubled or even more in some cases.
The move follows bid by the government to check revenge killings' by the villagers, whose livestock often fall victim to wild animals.
Sources said the proposal is being considered by the state finance department and may soon be approved. The current amount is very little as it was fixed years ago. The compensation at present is Rs 300 for a goat and Rs 3,000 for a cow or a buffalo.
"We had given such a proposal some time ago. The proposal is under consideration," confirmed H M Bhatia, chief wildlife warden, Rajasthan.
"It is high time for the forest department to revise compensation rates for villagers whose livestock is eaten by tigers. The sum can hardly be compared with market rates of animals which is somewhere around 10 times the amount. Also, the process for giving this sum needs to be simplified. Currently, the department takes a very long time to hand over the cheque to the villager," said Rajpal Singh, member, state wildlife board. It is due to this paltry sum that tigers are often poisoned by villagers.
A month ago, a male tiger ST-1 that killed a buffalo in Sariska was later poisoned. Sources said the villagers smeared poison on the half-eaten carcass of the buffalo when the tiger was away.
A similar fear looms large over the fate of tigress T-13 which ventured out of the Ranthambore national park towards the Chambal river along with its cubs and killed a bull some days days ago.
While R P Gupta, DFO Ranthambore, maintains, "We have visited the village and met the sarpanch and the owner of the bull. We have assured them of a compensation soon and asked them not to graze their cattle in that area anymore." But this assurance may not prove beneficial in case T-13 makes another kill as it is just 2 km from human habitation.
The only immediate relief that came to the villager was when an NGO paid the owner of the bull Rs 5,000.
Adding to the complications of the current system of compensation is the fact that while the forest department recognises villagers staying in sanctuaries and even pays them a sum for relocation, it does not pay any compensation when their livestock is killed while grazing as this is not permitted in sanctuaries. Compensation is given only when a tiger strays out of the forest and kills livestock of villagers on the periphery of the forest.
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