Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the Forest Department and district administration to take urgent and coordinated measures to curb increasing human-wildlife conflicts in Uttarakhand. Chairing a review meeting at the Secretariat, he instructed officials to ensure that Forest Department teams reach the site of any reported incident within 30 minutes, adding that the concerned DFO and Ranger will be held directly accountable for delays. Immediate financial assistance must also be provided to affected families.
Amid rising conflict cases in Pauri district, the Chief Minister ordered the immediate removal of the Pauri DFO. He also directed authorities to arrange escorts for schoolchildren in areas with a high risk of wildlife attacks.
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To safeguard families who lose their primary earner to wildlife encounters, Dhami asked the Forest Department to draft a livelihood support policy within two weeks. He emphasised that all necessary equipment to reduce such incidents should be made available to districts without delay.
Dhami stressed that saving human lives is the utmost priority and called for the use of modern technology, including continuous camera surveillance in sensitive areas, to monitor wildlife movement. He instructed forest personnel to strengthen communication with villagers and maintain constant ground-level monitoring. A large-scale campaign will also be launched to clear wild bushes around settlements and raise awareness, especially among women and children, about wildlife presence nearby.
Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal, Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, senior officials Shailesh Bagoli, Vinay Shankar Pandey, Ravishankar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Ranjan Mishra, and Additional Secretary Himanshu Khurana attended the meeting.