Chandrapur: A 2021 expert committee report that proposed a comprehensive roadmap to tackle the rising human–tiger conflict in the district is gathering dust over the years. The report had urged the Maharashtra govt to immediately translate its recommendations into action.Activist Bandu Dhotre, who was also a member of the expert committee, said the govt has failed to act on the recommendations. The 11-member committee was formed following a decision during the 15th meeting of the State Wildlife Advisory Board in August 2020, after a series of human fatalities and livestock losses were reported from forest fringe villages across Chandrapur.The panel was named the Chandrapur District Human–Tiger Conflict Technical Study Group. It was chaired by NR Praveen, then Chief Conservator of Forests (Chandrapur Circle), and included senior forest officials, wildlife scientists, conservationists and community representatives.Following field visits and consultations with villagers and forest officials, the committee submitted its report to the state govt in January 2021. The recommendations were later discussed during the 17th meeting of the State Wildlife Advisory Board in October 2021, where the report was formally accepted and its recommendations endorsed for implementation.However, according to Dhotre the measures remain largely unimplemented. Dhotre noted that around 200 people have lost their lives in wildlife-related incidents in Chandrapur over the past five years. In the last year alone, 47 deaths were reported in predator attacks. “Had the govt promptly implemented the expert panel report, then most of these deaths could have been avoided,” he emphasized.
