Rs 621 crore to build rail barriers in forests to stop rampaging jumbos
BENGALURU: To control human-elephant conflict, the government has allocated Rs 621 crore to construct barriers using old rail tracks over 520 km in the next three years.
The new scheme, ‘Prevention of Human-Elephant Conflict by Used Rail Barriers’, was announced by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in his Budget on Friday. Considering the increasing loss of human lives and crops, the barriers costing Rs 100 crore will be built over 200 km in 2019-20.
To control lantana and eupatorium weeds that cover large parts of forest and hinder the growth of grass, the government has allocated Rs 5 crore for deweeding operations for 2019-20.
“Vrukshodyana”, a scheme to develop tree parks in urban areas, has been allotted Rs 15 crore. Excluding Bengaluru, the government has proposed to set up continuous Ambient Noise Quality Monitoring Stations, four in each district in 10 corporation areas, at a cost of '9 crore. '9 crore has been allocated to set up 17 Continuous Water Quality Monitoring Stations to measure the quality of water in 17 polluted water banks, identified by the Central Pollution Control Board.
Three such stations will be set up at Bellandur, Agara and Varthur lakes as directed by the National Green Tribunal. Rs 60 crore has been allotted to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to set up labs. District Labs in 21 districts will be established at a cost of Rs 42 crore, 16 Sub-Laboratories at a cost of Rs 8 crore and 10 Automated Flow Analysers at a cost of Rs 10 crore. The state government has proposed that the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute, the nodal institute on climate change in the state, will take up research work on climate change.
