Mumbai, Nov 18 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday directed officials to declare leopard attacks on humans as a “state disaster” and move a proposal in the next cabinet meeting to remove these felines from Schedule I list to allow greater flexibility in managing man-eating animals.
Fadnavis gave these directions during a high-level meeting held at the state secretariat to address the rising incidents of leopard attacks in parts of the state. Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, Forest Minister Ganesh Naik and senior officials were present for the meeting.
Leopards are currently listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, a category that provides the highest level of protection and limits action against man-eaters.
CM Fadnavis said this often creates operational challenges, and asked the state to submit a proposal to the Union government seeking their reclassification under Schedule II.
He called for immediate and long-term measures to address the increasing human-leopard conflict.
The CM ordered immediate deployment of cages at vulnerable locations to capture man-eating leopards, and directed the use of drones to track leopards roaming near villages as well as urban areas.
Two rescue centres for leopards will be established in Pune district within the next two-three months for treatment and rehabilitation of the captured animals, Fadnavis announced.
“Leopard attacks have increased in the state. We need both immediate and long-term measures on a time-bound basis,” the CM said.
He instructed the officials to prepare a proposal for reclassifying leopards from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Wild Life (Protection) Act to enable better control over man-eating leopards. The proposal will be sent to the central government.
District Planning Committees have been asked to provide funds for cages, vehicles, and manpower needed for leopard capture operations.
The CM also directed sterilisation of man-eating leopards, for which permission has been received from the Centre. The capacity of existing rescue centres, including Gorewada (in Nagpur), will be enhanced.
Police and forest department personnel will increase patrolling in leopard-prone areas, while the number of rescue teams and vehicles will be augmented, a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) quoted Fadnavis as saying.
In over a month, three persons have lost their lives in leopard attacks in Pune district’s Shirur tehsil, which comes under the Junnar forest division. The spate of leopard attacks has sparked anger among people who recently torched a vehicle belonging to the forest department.
A “man-eater” leopard was killed by sharpshooters in Shirur tehsil in the first week of November. PTI MR NP
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