PANAJI, Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane on Tuesday said that the Goa government will formulate a policy to manage human-animal wildlife conflict after studying models adopted by states like Kerala and Karnataka.
He was responding to a question posed by Opposition Leader Yuri Alemaw in the Assembly during the ongoing budget session.
The minister said that he is aware of the seriousness of the issue as wild animals such as cheetahs, bison, monkeys and cheetahs are entering human habitats.
“I know this is a serious issue. It is important for us to create the right ecosystem within forest areas so that wildlife remains within their natural habitat,” he stressed.
Rane said his administration would formulate a dedicated policy to address the increasing incidents of wild animals straying into human habitations.
He told the House that the matter will be discussed with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to finalize the structural framework.
When Alemao pointed out that states like Karnataka and Kerala had formed similar policies, Rane said the Goa government would study them to learn from their best practices.
He stated that the forest department would formally write to the concerned authorities in both the states to seek their policy documents and study their approach.
He added that the government intends to present a framework for this policy before the end of the current Council session.
The Minister also informed the House of Representatives that there was a ruling $Rs 3.30 crore has been raised to address human-animal conflict in Goa.
He added that the forest department will conduct mapping of hotspot areas affected by the monkey menace and collect detailed data to help formulate targeted mitigation measures.
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