The Budget has announced an increase in grants and a slew of measures to address man-animal conflict in the State. They include increase of ex-gratia relief for loss of human life from wild animal attacks from ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh and a grant of ₹20 crore to establish ‘Wild-elephant Soft Release Centre’ in 20 sq km area within the Bhadra Tiger Reserve.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced that the eight elephant task forces and two leopard task forces formed to control the wild elephant and leopard menace in the State will continue to be operational as a fund of ₹17 crore has been provided in the current year.
“To prevent man-elephant conflict, 392 km of railway barricades have been constructed since 2015. As much as 150 km of railway barricade works will be taken up in the next two years and ₹60 crore has been set aside for 2025-26,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.
In order to increase green cover in the State, he announced that under various programmes, 213 lakh plants in 28,494-hectare forest area and 3.5 lakh plants in 1,200 hectares of non-forest area will be grown and plantations will be maintained.
To mitigate the effects of climate change, the Karnataka Forest, Wildlife and Climate Change Mitigation Foundation (KFWCCMF) will be constituted in collaboration with environmentally conscious corporate bodies and social reformers.
Published – March 07, 2025 08:33 pm IST