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Thiruvananthapuram: Forest minister Shibu Baby John on Tuesday said the govt planned to adopt a middle path to address historical mistakes that had led to the escalation of human-wildlife conflict, including the settlement of tribals in Chinnakanal’s 301 Colony near Anayirankal dam, a traditional elephant corridor.Speaking at Vanaspandanam, organised by Coexistence Collective and State Central Library as part of Wildlife Week celebrations, Shibu said decisions taken at different points had led to the current situation. He cited a 2002 letter by then Munnar DFO Prakriti Srivastava suggesting that tribals be settled in Chinnakanal to prevent the occupation of Mathikettan forest area.“Chinnakanal has been a human settlement for a long time. What is the solution? It is impossible to remove people from there, and they cannot be evicted. I am not in favour of resolving the issue based solely on an order. We need to create awareness about the dangers of living in the area and find a solution by bringing all stakeholders together. We need to find a middle path,” he said.Interestingly, the minister’s words drew an immediate retort from Srivastava, who chaired the session. She said Cabinet’s 2003 decision to settle people in 301 Colony was foolhardy and that her letter, which had limited circulation and no legal validity, had been unnecessarily cited. She urged the minister to read the entire issue instead of giving out incomplete information.The minister had referred to Srivastava’s letter proposing the relocation of people to the area on Monday too. Speaking in Idukki, he said the present conflict resulted from a mistake made during that period, besides pointing out that large resorts had subsequently come up on revenue land in the area.The colony was established in 2003 by A K Antony govt in an area adjoining the forest as part of rehabilitating landless tribal families. Each family was allotted four cents of land and a concrete house. Around 180 families now live in the colony.On Tuesday, Shibu said the issues should be addressed practically. “The first migration began under a royal order and successive govts have encouraged it. Under our govt, there will be a clear line of control: farmers’ land will remain with them while forest land will remain with the forest department. This will be the conservation policy we adopt.”“We cannot live in a dream world where animals never venture into human settlements. The govt will identify why animals are entering human settlements, take mitigation measures if necessary and provide adequate compensation if the problem persisted,” he added.
