Dilemma surrounding compensation for wildlife attack victims in Kerala

The most unfortunate and irreparable loss in wildlife attacks is the lives lost of people settled adjacent to forest-border districts. The second loss is the destruction of large amounts of crops. The only grace remains that the government pays compensation for the losses suffered. But hitherto, there was no clear standard regarding the minimum amount of compensation to be paid to the kin of a victim killed in a wild animal attack. Similarly, even if crops were destroyed, there were many obstacles to compensation, and it took a lot of time before the compensation reached the hands of those who deserved it. Different interventions made by the Supreme Court and the Central Government are finally putting an end to the dilemma surrounding compensation in wildlife attacks.

The Supreme Court ordered state governments to consider providing Rs 10 lakh compensation to the families of those who lose their lives in wildlife attacks. The bench headed by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai also asked to consider such wildlife attacks as natural disasters. The UP government is currently considering such conflicts as natural disasters. The three-judge bench also beseeched other states to emulate this if possible. The court issued these directions in a judgment considering issues related to the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand. Another important remedial measure is the decision of the Central government to consider crop damage due to wildlife attacks as local calamities and provide relief.

Damage caused by wildlife attacks was included in the fifth category in the local disaster category. This is a great relief for Kerala, which is one of the states that suffers the most crop damage due to wildlife attacks. This will be implemented from next year's Kharif season. Damage caused by floods was also included in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Damage to paddy fields due to floods in coastal states was considered a local disaster till 2018, but was later removed, citing technical issues. It is a proud fact that Kerala has become a model for the Centre to declare wildlife conflict as a local disaster. Kerala had declared human-wildlife conflict as a state-specific disaster in March 2024 itself.

Even if there is loss of life or crop damage due to wildlife attacks, the state provides compensation on its own. But there were no special insurance schemes for that. Since the centre has included compensation in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana insurance, the compensation amount will now be received from the centre. The centre has also revealed some responsibilities that the states have to fulfil to get compensation. A list of wild animals responsible for crop damage, affected districts, etc., should be notified. Similarly, in the case of crop damage, farmers should report the damage through the crop insurance app within 72 hours.