Kerala High Court Directs Alternative Sites Identified By State For Translocation Of 'Arikomban' Be Submitted To Expert Committee In Sealed Cover

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed that any alternative site that may be suggested by the State Government for translocation of the rogue elephant 'Arikomban' ought to be submitted in a sealed cover to the Expert Committee constituted by the Court vide its Order dated March 29, 2023.

The elephant had allegedly been foraging into the Chinnakanal area, and causing damage to the property in the human settlement areas. Vide its Order dated April 13, 2023, the Court had decided not to interfere with the translocation of ‘Arikkomban’ to Parambikulam, but had however maintained that if the State was able to find a suitable alternative to translocate the pachyderm within a week, it could shift the animal to the new location under the directions of its earlier order. 

The Division Bench comprising Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Gopinath P. directed the members of the Expert Committee to examine the feasibility and ensure that the details of the alternate site are kept confidential, until further orders of the Court. 

"If the Committee approves the alternate site suggested, then the capture and shifting of the animal in terms of the earlier orders issued by us, to the said alternate site, need not await further orders from this Court," the Court added. 

The Court today also modified its earlier order dated April 5, 2023, with respect to the constitution of the Task force and the Officers involved in the translocation of the tusker 'Arikomban'. 

 It directed that the the Task Forces for the Districts of Idukki, Palakkad and Wayanad comprising the following members would be constituted with immediate effect:

i. The Revenue Divisional Officer concerned; 

ii. The Divisional Forest Officer/Wildlife Warden having jurisdiction over the area in question; 

iii. The Station House Officer concerned; 

iv. The Panchayat President of the Panchayath concerned; and

v. The Secretary, District Legal Services Authority of the Districts concerned who shall also act as the Convenor of the Task Force.

The Officers involved in the translocation of 'Arikomban' were modified to include:

i. Arun R.S - Chief Conservator of Forests (High Range Circle), Kottayam; 

ii. Dr. Arun Sakharia, the Chief Forest Veterinary Officer; and 

iii. Ramesh Bishnoi IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, Munnar. 

The Court directed that as soon as the Task Forces is constituted, a report detailing the composition of each of the Task Forces, as well as the complete list of Task Forces constituted in all the three Districts, ought to be made available by the next date of posting.

It was further directed that the Task Forces ought to commence their task of formulating measures to prevent elephant incursion into human settlement areas within the territorial limits of their respective Panchayaths, as discussed in its previous order. The Court specified that all other directions in its previous order would continue to operate. 

The matter has been posted for further consideration on May 3, 2023. 

Case Title: In Re Bruno v. Union of India & Ors.

Click Here To Read/Download The Order