Centre slashes Project Elephant funding, conservation to be hit in Odisha
27 Apr 2022 As
Odisha reports a significant number of unnatural elephant deaths and
tries to find ways to reduce man-elephant conflict, Centre’s decision
to curtail funds under Project Elephant has left the Forest department
in a quandary as it apprehends conservation measures may be hit.Sources
in the Forest and Environment department said as per Centre’s fresh
directive, funding under Project Elephant to the State may reduce by 75
per cent of what was approved in the last (2021-22) fiscal.
Reliable
sources said, the State had submitted estimation for Rs 15 crore last
fiscal of which around Rs 12 crore was approved. “However, this year,
we have been asked to submit estimates of Rs 3 crore as a budget of
only Rs 35 crore has been set aside under Project Elephant for the
entire country,” sources added.
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