The State government has decided to take a delegation of MLAs to the national capital to seek funds from the Centre under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) for erecting barricades in forest areas to prevent entry of wild animals into human habitats.
Forest Minister Arvind Limbavali on Thursday chaired a meeting with MLAs whose constituencies witnessed man-animal conflicts and said barricades would be erected in forest areas covering 624 km.
Already 165 km had been fenced and ₹550 crore would be required to fence the rest of the forest areas. The State required funds from the Centre and a delegation of MLAs would be taken to Delhi soon to submit a memorandum, Mr. Limbavali said.
Legislators who participated in the meeting sought higher compensation for crop loss incurred due to acts by wild animals and the loss of human lives. They also demanded better roads to villages passing through forest areas.
The Minister said he would instruct senior officials of the department as well as district officials to look into the problems faced by the people residing in the forest areas.
A workshop would be conducted for officials for better understanding of the grievances of the people residing nearby forests and issue of title deeds, he said.
Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Fisheries Minister S. Angara, Labour Minister Shivaram Hebbar, and K.G. Bopaiah, Appachu Ranjan, H.K. Kumaraswamy, Araga Jnanendra, V. Sunil Kumar, T.D. Raje Gowda, R.V. Deshpande, N. Mahesh, Sunil B. Naik, and M. Roopakala, MLAs, participated in the meeting.
