TFP Bureau, Raipur, August 5, 2025: Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has directed officials to ensure swift and sensitive disbursal of compensation to victims of wild animal attacks across Chhattisgarh, emphasizing that those affected by human, livestock, or crop losses must receive timely assistance as per government norms.
Chairing a review meeting of the Forest and Climate Change Department at Mahanadi Bhawan in Nava Raipur, the Chief Minister highlighted the growing threat of human-animal conflict, especially in forested regions. “People are not just losing crops and livestock; many are losing family members in these tragic incidents. Their pain must be acknowledged and addressed with utmost empathy and urgency,” he stated.
CM Sai expressed concern over the frequent incidents involving elephants and other wild animals, which cause significant damage to lives, homes, and livelihoods. He underlined that apart from paddy—the staple crop—cash crops like sugarcane, banana, papaya, and jackfruit are also being destroyed, leaving farmers under both financial and emotional distress.
The Chief Minister also reviewed the status of individual forest rights titles granted in the state and instructed officials to expedite all pending cases related to compensation under relevant legal provisions.
Forest and Climate Change Minister Kedar Kashyap urged the department to enhance inter-departmental coordination to ensure that relief reaches affected individuals without delay. A proposal to revise and increase the compensation amounts for loss of life, disability, livestock damage, house destruction, and crop loss was presented during the meeting.
The session also included discussions on assistance provided under RBC (Revenue Book Circular) provisions for natural disaster-induced crop losses.
The review meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Amitabh Jain, Additional Chief Secretary (Forest) Richa Sharma, Principal Secretary to the CM Subodh Kumar Singh, Secretary to the CM Rahul Bhagat, Secretary of Agriculture Shahla Nigar, Revenue and Disaster Management Secretary Avinash Champawat, Planning and Statistics Secretary Ankit Anand, Forest Secretary Amarnath Prasad, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Sudhir Agrawal, Additional PCCF Prem Kumar, and other senior officials.
