Kerala urges Centre to amend wildlife laws as elephant attack claims one more life in Nilambur

Thiruvananthapuram: In the wake of increasing deaths in wild animal attack, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged the Centre to relax the norms for swiftly dealing with wild animals that pose threat to human beings.

In the latest incident, a tribal woman, Sarojini alias Neeli, 52, of Uchakulam Ooru, was killed in a wild elephant attack at Nilambur in Malappuram. It is the second death in a wild elephant attack in the region in the last ten days.

The incident also assumes much political significance as former Left-front backed independent MLA P V Anvar, who quit the MLA post last week and joined the Trinamool Congress, has been highlighting man-animal conflict in the region.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said that stringent norms in the Wildlife Protection Act and Centre's directives were major hindrance in dealing with wild animal menace. The state government even has limitations in acting against wild animals that enter human settlements.

The state assembly already passed a resolution urging the centre to amend the laws.

Meanwhile, the state government also decided to withdraw many provisions in the proposed amendments in the Kerala Forest Act.

The proposed provisions that empower forest officials to even arrest without warrant those indulging in forest offences had triggered strong resentment from farmers and residents near forest areas. Many coalition partners in the Left front had also raised objections.

The Chief Minister said that the government's view is that welfare of the people should be the priority of all laws. The government will not go ahead with any move that would affect the people, he added.