The delegation of farmers while in meeting with Chief Minister
Shimla, May 18
Himachal Kisan Sabha (HKS) has welcomed the reconstitution of the Himachal Pradesh State Wildlife Board by the state government under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. However, the organization has raised serious concerns over the absence of farmers’ representation in the newly constituted board.
In a press statement issued by State President Dr. Kuldip Singh Tanwar, the Kisan Sabha said it was “extremely unfortunate” that the largest farmers’ organization in the state was not included as a non-official member of the board despite farmers being the worst affected by the growing wildlife menace.
The organization demanded that all stakeholders, especially farmers’ groups, should be adequately represented in the Wildlife Board. It also urged the government to ensure regular and timely meetings of the board to address the worsening human-wildlife conflict in the state.
The Kisan Sabha stressed that the first priority of the board should be the immediate revision of compensation provided to families and farmers affected by wildlife attacks. It demanded enhancement in compensation for loss of life, injuries, crop damage, destruction of property and attacks on domestic animals, keeping in view present market rates and rising treatment expenses.
Referring to its long struggle on the issue since 2005, the HKS claimed that sustained pressure from the Kheti Bachao Andolan and associated organizations had led to amendments in the Wildlife Protection Act to include monkeys in Schedule 5, enabling population control measures in Himachal Pradesh. Despite this, it said the menace of wild boars, langurs, peacocks and nilgai has increased sharply in several districts, particularly Sirmaur, Solan, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Kangra.
The organization further expressed concern over increasing incidents of monkey and stray dog bites, claiming that over 100 such cases are reportedly being registered daily in hospitals across the state. It demanded immediate collection of data from health institutions and effective measures to tackle the situation.
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The Kisan Sabha has urged the Chief Minister to convene a meeting of all stakeholders, including farmer organizations, wildlife experts, forest officials and public representatives, to evolve a long-term solution to the growing wildlife crisis in Himachal Pradesh.
It is worthwhile to mention that Chief minister was appointed as Chairman of SWB, Sunder Singh Thakur as Vice Chairman and Sanjay Awasthi as members but appart from official members no members from farmers organisation was including in the board.
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