Ranchi — Escalating elephant attacks became a focal point of debate in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly on Thursday, as lawmakers demanded urgent corrective measures from the government.
On the second day of the Budget Session, Mandu representative Nirmal Mahto, affiliated with the All Jharkhand Students Union, organised a sit-in demonstration outside the Assembly building. Holding a placard, he charged the state government and the Forest Department with failing to curb the growing conflict between humans and elephants.
According to Mahto, more than 10 deaths have occurred statewide due to elephant attacks. He argued that despite these fatalities, the Forest Department has not established an effective surveillance framework to monitor elephant migration and movement.
He emphasised that elephants are increasingly entering residential and even urban zones without warning, causing deaths and destruction of property, while the government response remains inadequate.
The MLA linked these developments to unchecked illegal mining activities. He alleged that unregulated coal and iron ore extraction, particularly night-time blasting operations, has severely disturbed wildlife habitats and forced elephants into human settlements.
Criticising the government’s environmental commitments, he said its promise to safeguard “Jal, Jungle, aur Zameen” stands compromised.
Expressing dissatisfaction with compensation measures, Mahto stated that the current ex gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh for fatalities is grossly insufficient. He proposed raising the compensation to between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 30 lakh and demanded employment for a family member of each victim.
Additionally, he accused the administration of failing to reconstruct homes damaged in elephant attacks and offering only nominal relief rather than structured rehabilitation.
He concluded by urging the government to adopt a comprehensive framework addressing human-elephant conflict, incorporating scientific corridor management, decisive action against illegal mining, and a clearly defined rehabilitation timeline.
With inputs from IANS