Supreme Court Directs States To Consider Treating Human-Wildlife Conflict As 'Natural Disaster', Orders Rs 10 Lakh Ex Gratia To Victims

The Supreme Court has directed all States to actively consider classifying human-wildlife conflict as a "natural disaster" and to ensure payment of Rs 10 lakh ex gratia for every human death caused in such incidents. The Court said this uniform compensation is mandatory, as fixed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the CSS Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Justice AG Masih and Justice AS Chandurkar passed the directions while considering the issues related to the Jim Corbett tiger park in Uttarakhand.

NTCA to prepare Model Guidelines within six months

The Court has directed the National Tiger Conservation Authority to frame Model Guidelines on Human–Wildlife Conflict within six months. All States must implement these guidelines within six months of their issuance. NTCA has been permitted to consult State Governments and the Central Empowered Committee during the drafting process.

Compensation must be easy, inclusive and time-bound

The Expert Committee's recommendations, accepted by the Court, require that every State establish compensation systems that are:

• smooth and accessible

• inclusive of crop loss, human injury or death and cattle loss

• free of unnecessary procedural delays

The Court emphasised that timely compensation is essential for maintaining public trust and community participation in conservation programmes.

Coordination across departments to reduce conflict response time

The judgment highlights the need for close coordination between Forest, Revenue, Police, Disaster Management and Panchayati Raj departments. The Court noted that delays in crisis situations often arise due to confusion over responsibilities and stated that each State must ensure swift and coordinated response mechanisms to manage conflict incidents.

Classification as natural disaster to enable faster relief

The Court recorded that some States, including Uttar Pradesh, have already notified human–wildlife conflict as a natural disaster. It directed other States to positively consider adopting the same approach. The Court explained that such classification enables faster disbursal of funds, immediate access to disaster management resources and clearer administrative accountability.

"Notifying 'Human wildlife conflict' as a "natural disaster" (as has already been done by some states like Uttar Pradesh) should be actively considered by other states. All the States are directed to give ex-gratia amount of Rs. 10 lakh as fixed by the MoEF&CC under CSS-IWDH," the Court observed.

The Court passed these directions while considering the ecological damage cased to the Jib Corbett tiger reserve in Uttarakhand due to illegal tree felling and unauthorised constructions.

Also from the judgment - Supreme Court Issues Directions On Tiger Safaris, Directs States To Notify ESZs Around Tiger Reserves