THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Animal lovers charge that the inordinate delay in forming district-level elephant protection committees is an attempt to protect inter-state smuggling of elephants.
No action has been taken even though nearly a month has passed since the Supreme Court had directed the state to revive these committees.
The apex court, in its order on August 18, had said that these generally moribund committees should be reconstituted including a member of the Animal Welfare Board of India.
All captive elephants in the state will have to be registered with this committee within six months of the Supreme Court order.
The move, essentially, was an attempt to check torture and inter-state smuggling of elephants.
On August 26, the AWBI had sent a list of 14 representatives to the chief secretary.
Even three weeks later, the list has not been forwarded to the district collectors concerned who chair the elephant protection committees.
On September 7, the AWBI shot off another missive, saying, “Already, three weeks have passed since the Supreme Court had issued the order and it is requested that necessary orders and directions be issued to all concerned.” This letter, too, has been ignored.
The Thrissur-based Heritage Animal Task Force has written a letter to the Prime Minister. “The chief secretary is delaying the formation of the district committees to protect elephant contractors who are benamis of the chief minister and some members of his cabinet,” task force general secretary V. K. Venkitachalam said in his letter.
State Animal Welfare Board member M. N. Jayachandran said that the apex court had issued the order after it was fully convinced about the smuggling of elephants into the state.
“An elephant that was illegally transported from Jharkhand was recently seized,” Mr Jayachandran said. “The state government’s apathy is not just a mockery of law but a clear sign that it wants the right of smugglers protected,” he added.
