The emergency meetings held on Sunday and Monday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and attended by all major stakeholders made a decision to this effect. [break]
Toward that end, the Finance Ministry has sanctioned Rs 2.5 million on Monday as a first installment.
“The money will be spent on ground intelligence and some logistics,” Yuvaraj Bhusal, the forests secretary, said.
Also, the government is geared up to penalize 15 District Forest Officials and another 15-20 Chitwan National Park (CNP) officials on charges of conniving with the poachers.
The government has called for immediate action against poaching after reports of killings of eight one-horned rhinos in CNP within two months.
“The government is committed to save rhinos and tigers and we will do all that is required to save the animals,” Forests Minister Deepak Bohara said.
The sanctioned fund will be used to improve poaching tracking system. As per the proposal of Nepal Army, some high-tech devices like satellite spotting machines, radars and patrolling vehicles will be provided to the NA´s Directorate of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.
The forest ministry has approached the World Bank seeking funding for importing eight mobile vans for surveillance purpose.
- Rs 50 million promised for anti-poaching plans
- 15 DFOs and 20 CNP officers to face charges
- Wildlife Crime Control Bureau to be set up in a week
- PM orders increased vigilance, intelligence, patrolling
- NA to get high-tech tracking devices
Also, the PM has directed a cabinet sub-committee to hasten the process for setting up the high-level Wildlife Crime Control Bureau with the PM himself as the chairman as per the decision of the cabinet.
“The PM has accorded high priority to conservation and environment matter and as per his direction we will set up the bureau within a week,” Bohara said. He added that the fund will go toward strengthening anti-poaching unit in CNP.
During the meetings, the government also debated the role of NA in conservation works inside the Park. NA high-ranking officials have sought free movement of army personnel and support for the army´s pro-active role in the core as well as buffer zone areas.“Army´s movement is restricted and the outside support is poor,” a highly placed NA source said.
“We will be 99 percent successful if we are given freedom of movement and support in technical and intelligence gathering areas,” the source added.
An NA report says that the poachers kill 7 to 8 rhinos between Phalgun to Shrawan every month.
The forests ministry, on the other hand, has questioned the patrol timings of the NA in the Park. “There is no set timing for patrolling and it is only on call basis,” a ministry source said, adding, “We have also seen that the routine of NA is inconsistent with the poachers´ timing, who are much advanced than our guards.”
The source said the usual time for poaching is between 4 to 7 am in the morning when army personnel are busy in routine exercises and other chores. The source said the army also shy away from interventions due to the fear of being dragged into controversies.
akanshya@myrepublica.com
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