‘Northeast vulnerable to wildlife crimes due to porous international border’

Our Correspondent

Imphal, Sep. 26 (EMN): Chief Justice of Manipur High Court, P V Sanjay Kumar, on Monday said the Northeast of India as well as the country as a whole stands vulnerable to wildlife crimes because of the presence of porous international borders and rich prevalent biodiversity

He was speaking during a workshop on “Wildlife crime prevention – challenges, solutions and role of stake holders” at the auditorium of Manipur High Court on Monday.

The workshop was organised by Manipur State Legal Services authority in collaboration with research-based biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak.

Chief Justice P V Sanjay Kumar, Justice M V Muralidaran, Justice A Bimol Singh, DGP Manipur P Doungel, Chief Conservator of Forest, Manipur Longjam Joykumar and others were present during the workshop.

Speaking on the occasion, Kumar underlined sustained collaboration among all the stakeholders including various government agencies and forces in the state and central level.

He said it is necessary for holding training sessions, awareness workshops for forest, police, judiciary and other government agencies for effective tackling of wildlife crimes through synergised efforts in India, a country with major biodiversity.

He wished the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 would have provisions to deal with illegal trade of exotic animals too.

On the other hand, Justice Muralidaran called for serious introspection by all agencies concerned about low reporting of wildlife crime in Manipur and delay in conviction of guilty, while Justice A Bimol Singh expressed the need for massive awareness drives, use of technology for prevention of wildlife crimes.

In his speech, the Chief Conservator of Forest Joykumar rued delay in court proceedings and low conviction rates in case of wildlife crime cases and observed that usually the court tends to ignore the provisions for imprisonment of wildlife criminals who get away with only imposition of fines.

DGP Doungel who was also present during the workshop expressed his desire to have a synergised efforts in place among various agencies including police, Forest department, Assam Rifles, Customs, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau etc. to protect the wildlife and prevent crimes.