Securing the Future for Elephants in India - Ministry of Environment ...

of large numbers of residents in the non PA sections of the Elephant
Reserve areas.
The Task Force recognizes that the boundaries of certain reserves may
need to be rationalized as they were not drawn on scientific and ecological
principles that form the foundation of the conservation of elephants and
associated biodiversity of the wild. For instance, Jamshedpur falls within
the current boundaries of an Elephant Reserve. It is recommended that an
Expert Committee be formed under the aegis of NECA who will
rationalize the ER boundaries after baseline information of elephant
numbers and distribution is made available under the new protocols.
It is recognized that states normally appoint a Director for each Elephant
Reserve and this should be continued with.
In addition an Operational Reserve Level Management Committee should
be set up chaired by the Director of the Reserve. A nominee of the District
Commissioner, Local peoples’ elected representatives (MLAs, Zila
Parishad, Gram Panchayat and Gram Sabha), local conservationists, NGOs
and officers in charge of line departments such as railways, block
development authority and block veterinary officer should be members.
This committee will be advisory in nature for operational matters in the
ER. It will hold public hearings at least twice a year for redressal of
grievances. The roles and responsibilities of the members of the
Management Committee shall be clearly defined.
Under the aegis of the Reserve Level Management Committee, each
Reserve Director should be tasked with developing and implementing a
clear five year Management Plan with goals and objectives. The plan
should also have activities spelt out for those at the following levels of
management. DCF and Range Officer levels (for territorial divisions and
PAs); Director/Manager level for private undertakings where relevant,
and field biologists/scientific organization for research and monitoring.
The Action Plan should have performance indicators to measure progress
at each level of management to judge the effectiveness of elephant
conservation in the reserve. The sanction of budgets should be on the basis
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