“Rising Elephant Deaths Extremely Concerning”: Orissa High Court

Cuttack:The Orissa High Court expressed profound concern over elephant fatalities in the State today after hearing a writ petition submitted by the Odisha government regarding rising elephant mortality without corridors and urged the administration to use alternative energy in forested areas.

The case was heard collectively following an earlier criticism of the government by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The High Court advocated using solar energy instead of electricity to prevent elephants from being shocked and dying prematurely. The State government was also ordered by the court to form a joint task force and look for methods to stop the escalating threat.

As a result, the court has mandated that an alternate energy source must be adopted at most within the next two months. The CEOs of Odisha’s four energy distribution firms (Discoms) are required to convene a meeting within a week, which will be presided over by the task force to reduce pachyderm deaths. The court demanded that an action plan must be carried out within the allotted time frame.

The joint task force’s chair must file an affidavit to the High Court regarding the execution of an action plan.