Arikomban's Translocation Not Answer To Man-Animal Conflicts, Need Long Term Measures To Overcome Problems Created By Human Race: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday cited lack of proper waste management as reason for increasing incidents of animals encroaching into human settlements.  The Division Bench of Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Gopinath P. while considering the case pertaining to rogue elephant 'Arikomban' observed, 

"Waste is piling up and this is attracting the animals. And you say that animals are encroaching into human settlements. We are not addressing the real issue here. Waste management is a big issue. Going by the report of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), there is absolutely no mechanism for waste collection and management. You create and they will encroach since they are attracted by the smell and the taste". 

The pachyderm had allegedly been foraging into the Chinnakanal area, and causing damage to the property in the human settlement areas. The tusker was translocated to Periyar Tiger Reserve after fixation of a radio collar on it, on April 29, 2023. 

The Court added that this was an urgent issue that had to be addressed considering that even after Arikomban had been caught and translocated, there had been further issues in Chinnakanal.

"There are certain specific issues that have been identified. Unless we address the problems created by us, the human race, we can’t see an end of the problem. There will be one Arikomban now, one Chakkakomban, and so on. We can’t have a situation where everyday someone is suffering from wildlife human conflicts," Justice Gopinath remarked. 

The Court today also pulled up the Panchayat President of Santhanpara Panchayat of Idukki district for stating that he was unaware of the meetings convened by the Task Force that had been constituted by the Court.  The Court observed that when a Task Force had been created by it, all members had to act as one body. 

"If this is the attitude of the Panchayat President...We don’t know what his agenda is. But the last thing we want is him playing politics. We are only on legal issues here. If we find the Panchayat President playing politics, we have had enough of it. Grow up, behave like representatives of the people, understand their issues and project their issues first. We are not interested in any other game," the Court noted. 

Justice Nambiar went on to add that unless the Panchayat President toes the line drawn by the Court, the Court would have to deal with him. "We find animals to be less dangerous than people. Your submissions today as regards the Panchayat President have led us to doubt the bona fides of the Panchayat President," the judge quipped.

The Court today also noted that as a long term measure, the underlying issues of human-animal conflicts would have to be identified. 

"Even before the issue of Arikomban, we had told that problem areas across the State had to be identified. Once we identify the reasons for this increase in human animal conflicts in all these areas, then we need to identify long term strategies to ensure that it does not occur in future. We have this classic example of how capture and translocation of an animal is not an answer to the problem. Because Arikomban has been translocated, next, thing you have a report that some other elephant has come and again attacked the human settlement," it observed. 

The Court also contemplated the feasibility of reviving the natural habitat and reopening corridors across the State. When it was informed by the counsel that the same would take several years, the Court noted that such measures would have to be initiated soon. "Maybe it may take 50 years, but we need to start now," it noted. It further observed that a separate committee of people who are knowledgeable may also have to be constituted in respect of addressing the larger issue. 

The Court noted that such committee could identify the areas where no encroachments would be permitted, the short term measures for resolving the issues, the reopening of corridors on long term basis, and the recreation and restoration of the habitat. 

The matter has been posted for further consideration after two weeks. 

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