Kerala Govt Proposes Three-Pillar Strategy To Address Human-Wildlife Conflict, Submits Report To High Court

The report was submitted before a Division Bench comprising Dr. Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Jobin Sebastian hearing a batch of writ petitions concerning the issue. The judges had earlier sought for a comprehensive report in the matter.

The Chief Secretary's report proposes a three-pillar strategy, which includes physical barriers, behavioural change and Forest habitat improvement while addressing tribal Welfare and Livelihood.

The report categorised different defence mechanisms to tackle the problem of wildlife conflict and has prioritized each key action as 'critical', 'high' and 'medium'.

The report highlighted that the State had formally declared human-wildlife conflict a “State Specific Disaster” in March 2024, enabling structured disaster management responses. Multiple government orders have since been issued to strengthen preparedness, including formation of three-tier coordination committees at State, District and local levels; revision of relief assistance norms under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF); establishment of emergency operations centres and tool rooms for rapid response teams and deployment of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), Primary Response Teams (PRTs), and community-based vigilance groups.

The State also indicated plans to adopt advanced technology and remote monitoring systems, particularly for maintaining barriers such as solar fencing along forest fringes.

Addressing concerns raised in earlier hearings, the Court noted improvements in essential services in tribal resettlement areas. The State reported that ₹45 lakh had been sanctioned for drinking water supply in the TRDM area in Aralam. It was submitted that since February 25, approximately 30,000 litres of water are being distributed daily through GPS-enabled tanker lorries, with local monitoring mechanisms in place.

Additionally, local self-government institutions have been authorized to allocate funds for water supply till May 2026 in areas facing shortages.

The Court took note of the initiatives and the report submitted and posted the matter for further consideration on May 22, 2026, to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the State's action plan.

Case Title : Baiju Paul Mathews v State of Kerala and connected case

Case No : WP(C) 7858/ 2025 and connected case

Party in person.

Counsel for Respondents - T R Harikumar, Arjun Raghavan, Nirmal S, V Harish, Nagaraj Naryanan