RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh forest department on Monday submitted an affidavit before the high court assuring that the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) will initiate work on preventive measures in accordance with the rules framed by the Centre to safeguard tuskers from electrocution.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice B D Guru disposing of the PIL filed by a wildlife enthusiast Nitin Singhvi said that the protective and remedial steps should be undertaken in accordance with the letter and spirit of guidelines specified by the Centre.CSPDCL has also issued a necessary directive to accomplish the task. Chhattisgarh is among the states accounting for high elephant deaths owing to electrocution, with 63 such casualties reported since 2001 in the state.Singhvi in January 2018 in his first PIL highlighted the concern over persistent elephant deaths by electrocution mostly due to low-slung High Tension (HT) cables owned by CSPDCL, which was directed by the court in 2019 to resolve the issue at the earliest.Earlier, CSPDCL carried out a survey on the work to be done following the court’s directive. The company wrote to the forest department saying, “810 km 33KV line and 3781 km of 11 KV high voltage cables are to be shifted (elevated) and masked by aerial bunched cables instead of bare conductors. Besides the additional 3976 km of Low Tension (LT) line passing through the rural areas are also to be rectified and given the covered conductors. For both the tasks, the evaluated amount of Rs 1674 crore would be required.”What came as a shock to the state forest department was the demand note sent to it by the power company to pay Rs 1674 crore for the work. The baffled forest department consequently wrote to the MoEF&CC for the requisite funds. The Union ministry, referring to the various orders of the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal, responded that it’s the responsibility of the power distribution company.
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