Nagpur: As per new rules, persons injured or killed in wild animal attacks shall not be eligible for compensation if the incident of attack takes place while the victim contravened any of the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 or rules made thereunder.
The state government has already notified Maharashtra Payment of Compensation for Loss, Injury, or Damage Caused by Wild Animals Act, 2023 on August 14 last year.Now, the rules have been framed under the said Act. The rules were notified on January 30, 2024.
As per the interpretation of the said Act, if a person or domestic animal is injured or killed in an animal attack inside the wildlife sanctuary or national park, the kin of the victim will not be eligible for any compensation. However, compensation in such cases will be allowed in the buffer zone of the tiger reserve and other areas.
As per the new rules, the assistant conservator of forest (ACF) will be the sanctioning authority for payment of compensation. Earlier, these powers were with the deputy conservator of forests (DyCF).
As per the defined procedure, an intimation about the loss of human life shall be given in writing by any person to the nearest forest guard. The forest guard shall confirm the incident, gather information, and report to the forester and RFO concerned.
In such cases, an application for compensation payable under the Act shall be made by the legal heirs of the deceased to the concerned RFO within 48 hours of the incident. The RFO shall visit the spot and conduct inquiries within three days and make a panchnama.
In human attack cases, the post-mortem will be carried out by the medical officer (MO). For fatal human attacks, state pays ₹25 lakh to the next of the kin of the victims.
“If the payment of compensation is delayed beyond 30 days from the date of receipt of application, the RFO will have to pay interest at the rate of 6% per annum along with the amount of compensation,” says the rules.
In case the deceased is an adult, the payment of compensation shall be equally made to the spouse of the deceased and children. If the spouse is not alive, the compensation shall be equally divided amongst all the surviving children if all are major.
In case of cattle, the owner should ensure that the carcass is not removed from the spot of the incident till an inspection is carried out, otherwise, he will not be eligible for compensation.
The RFO will assess the market value of the cattle and submit documents to the ACF who will release payment within 20 days.
“If the cattle are killed inside the national park or sanctuary where entry of cattle is prohibited, then the applicant shall not be eligible for any compensation. The compensation will also be not allowed if the cultivation land is an encroachment on forest land, and if the cultivator has committed any offence under the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927, or Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA) 1972 in the last three years from the date of the incident,” the rules say.