Greens slams forest dept. for rejecting human-wildlife mitigation grant

The Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi (WPSS) has alleged that the Forest department’s decision to reject funding from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for human-wildlife conflict mitigation is a “gross betrayal of the farming community”.

​In a press release, the committee said the department had succumbed to threats from certain organisations acting under the guise of farmer interests to reject the project, which was initiated by the MoEFCC to alleviate tensions in areas outside tiger reserves. The scheme had selected 40 forest divisions across the country, including all the three divisions in Wayanad. Under the proposal, each division was set to receive ₹1.5 crore annually.

The Samithi led by president N. Badusha and secretary Thomas Ambalavayal said the fringe groups had reportedly branded the initiative a clandestine plot to breed tigers and other wild animals outside forest boundaries.

“​It was farcical for the Forest Minister to wash his hands of the matter. The department constantly clamours for more resources to combat wildlife intrusions, yet it has summarily discarded a comprehensive central scheme that would have modernised our response,” they said.

​The rejected project was not merely a financial grant but a technological roadmap for safety. The funding was earmarked for several critical interventions such as deployment of camera traps, GPS-based monitoring, and drones to track the movement of tigers, the Samithi said.

​The Samithi office-bearers said Kerala had turned its back on funding, while neighbouring States are moving ahead. Bordering regions such as Kodagu, Madikeri, and Gudalur are currently seeing active project work, leaving Wayanad’s farmers at a distinct disadvantage, they said, adding that the department’s regressive stance might discourage the Union government from providing future conservation grants to the State.