PANAJI
Farmers have heaved a sigh of relief with the State government approving conditional culling of wild boars in an attempt to check the destruction of cultivation in private lands.
However, the paperwork that will be involved in this whole process seems to be very complicated and time-bound.
Welcoming the government decision, Baban Rane from Keri Sattari, says, “It's best done. Der aaye, durust aaye (late but appropriate). But the main damage is caused by monkeys, and they should be declared vermin as soon as possible”.
“The only good factor of this policy is that at least now the government has recognised our issue of vermin. All these years, our complaints had fallen on deaf ears”, he said.
However, the conditional killing clause in the order may prove to be a dampener.
Horticulturist from Mangeshi Sanjeev Kunkallekar feels with the cumbersome process, farmers may be averse to registering their complaints.
“Even today, most of the farmers do not register their complaints of crop damage by wild animals, or ask for compensation. This is because if the monkeys or boars cause a small damage, they feel it is pointless to go all the way to the officer and complain, bring him to assess the damage, make a panchanama and then ask for compensation, which is sometimes 40-50 % or in rare cases 100 %”.
“If farmers shy away from registering their complaints, there is a possibility the policy will be reviewed and ultimately withdrawn”, he said.
Another horticulturist from Savoi-Verem Shrirang Jambhale feels it’s a good decision, but is skeptic on the practicality of its implementation.
“The government’s decision is good, but the procedure that is to be followed is complicated,” he says.
He further points out that the forest department is not acquainted with the woes of the farmers. The permission to kill wild boar, if it damages the crop, is a good one. But there are other options too, according to him.
“The forest department can rescue these wild boars and rehabilitate them in deep forests. It is not so that these boars visit and damage the crops only on a few occasions. They come often and live nearby in a 4-5 km circumference. They are unlikely to leave their area of habitat easily and hence they can be trapped and later rehabilitated in deeper jungles,” suggests Jambhale.
