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Minister of Forests, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre during the Legislative Assembly session in Belagavi on Thursday.
Blaming the loss of green cover around Bengaluru for the man-animal conflict cases in the city, Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre called upon MLAs to fight against the encroachment of forest land and protect the animal habitat.
Replying to a question from Satish Reddy, Bommanahalli MLA, in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, Mr. Khandre said Bengaluru Urban district had over 8,900 hectares of forest land.
Contending that about 2,800 acres of forest area around Bengaluru had been encroached upon, the Forest Minister said the government had registered over 1,000 cases.
While 403 acres of forest land had been recovered, the courts had stayed the proceedings in a few cases.
Increasing population
Though the population of animals was increasing, the forest area was dwindling on account of rapid urbanisation. This, he said, was leading to wild animals straying into human habitats.
After Mr. Khandre’s call to the MLAs to oppose encroachment of forest land, Speaker U.T. Khader too intervened in the discussion and said animals too had as much right to live as humans.
Responding to questions raised by Mr. Reddy on the dart that failed to tranquilise the leopard that had entered an apartment complex in Bengaluru in early November, leading to its killing, Mr. Khandre said only qualified veterinarians take decisions on the amount of tranquiliser needed for an animal based on various parameters, including the animal’s weight.
However, on certain occasions, the tranquiliser is not released into the animal’s body even after the dart is fired, he said.
Mr. Khandre agreed to a suggestion from Mr. Reddy for equipping Forest Department staff with thermal drones, cages, nets, and safety gear while handling emergencies arising out of man-animal conflicts.
He said the Leopard Task Force constituted by the State government in the wake of the incident, comprised 59 persons including 40 persons on contract, besides five drivers and officers of the Forest Department.
