Assam govt to hike compensation for man-elephant conflict

GUWAHATI, AUGUST 11: Assam government is planing to increase the compensation to the families of persons killed in man-elephant conflict from the current amount of Rs one lakh to Rs three lakh. To a question by AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam during the Question Hour in the Assembly, state forest minister Pramila Rani Brahma said 1,024 persons were killed by wild elephants across 22 districts in the last 16 years. Of them, 770 lost their lives in the last 10 years. "We have a system of giving compensation to the families of victims. Currently it is Rs one lakh. The value of one's life cannot be just one lakh, in fact it is priceless. Still we have proposed to increase it to Rs three lakh, provided we get approval from the finance department," she said. Of the 1,024 persons whop were killed, compensation has been paid to the families of 972 victims, Brahma said. "Earlier, the Congress government was complacent, so not all families received the compensation. In the last 10 years, 718 families were compensated. We have now changed some procedure so that people get the money easily," the minister said. To a question by Nandita Das, Brahma said the government is adopting various measures to prevent man-elephant conflicts.  The forest department is installing solar powered fences, elephant-proof trenches, crackers and high-power search lights among other things at different places to protect human lives, Brahma said.