Human-elephant conflicts: Over 2,500 people died in five years, says govt data

Human-elephant conflicts led to 2,853 human fatalities over the past five years, with the number of deaths peaking at 628 in 2023, according to government data.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh on Thursday said "elephants caused" 587 human deaths in 2019, 471 in 2020, 557 in 2021, 610 in 2022 and 628 in 2023.

The data revealed that Odisha recorded 624 such deaths during this period, followed by Jharkhand with 474, West Bengal with 436, Assam with 383, Chhattisgarh with 303, Tamil Nadu with 256, Karnataka with 160 and Kerala with 124.

The minister said the management of wildlife habitats was primarily the responsibility of state governments and Union Territory administrations and that the central government provided financial and technical support under the centrally sponsored Project Tiger & Elephant scheme for the protection of animals, their habitats and corridors, addressing human-animal conflict, and for the welfare of captive elephants.

In February 2021, the ministry issued an advisory on dealing with human-wildlife conflict, recommending coordinated inter-departmental action, identification of conflict hotspots, adherence to standard operating procedures, and establishment of rapid response teams.

In June the following year, the environment ministry issued guidelines to states and Union Territories on managing human-wildlife conflicts, including damage to crops.

The guidelines promote the cultivation of crops in forest fringe areas that are unpalatable to wild animals, and the use of agroforestry models incorporating cash crops such as chilies, lemongrass, and Khus grass, mixed with tree and shrub species.

In coordination with state forest departments, the ministry has also ground validated 150 elephant corridors across 15 elephant range states and asked states and Union Territories to take necessary steps to protect and conserve these corridors.

The Union power ministry issued guidelines to all discoms and transmission companies in September 2022 to mitigate the impact of power transmission lines and other infrastructure on elephants and other wildlife.

A permanent coordination committee has also been established between the railways and the environment ministries to prevent elephant deaths in train accidents.

(With agency inputs)