Elephant Corridor plagued by delays

By Nischit N | NT

Bengaluru: In April, an initiative by the State Revenue Department infused fresh hope in conservationists’ dreams of an elephant corridor in Bannerghatta National Park. However, it seems to have tapered off, with officials saying the survey of 1000 acres, had to be put on hold due to the rains.

The establishment of an elephant corridor, which will reduce the growing man-wildlife conflict, has been a longstanding necessity at Bannerghatta National Park.

However, it has remained a distant dream for years.

The Anekal Tahsildar, P. Dinesh, told News Trail that the “survey of over 1000 acres near Bannerghatta National Park – meant for an elephant corridor – was started in April. It has been delayed for a number of reasons, including the fact that a lot of land has been allotted to a few tribal communities. We now have to identify different places. The survey has also been affected by the recent rains.”

Elephant Corridor will go a long way in reducing Human-Elephant Conflict in these regions and also bring relief to farmers who have faced crop raids by jumbos now and then.

In 2011, a Lok Adalat judgment ordered the transfer of 1000 acres of government land, falling under survey number 69 of Shivanahalli village, Jigani Hobli, Anekul Taluk, to the forest department to develop an elephant corridor.

“I have instructed ADLR to conduct the survey as it is a huge tract of land. The survey has been taken up as a priority and the report will be submitted accordingly,” Dinesh added.

The land in this area has been deemed forest land, according to the District Commissioner’s instructions in 2016, who says it should be in possession of the forest department. However, due to the many delays, even the forest department appears to have lost hope, saying they do not expect the survey to be completed any time soon.