Assam unveils ‘Gaja Mitra’ scheme to tackle human-elephant conflicts
80 sites across eight districts have been identified for habitat restoration, community rapid action teams, and solar fencing.
Guwahati, July 11: In a move aimed at addressing the escalating human-elephant conflict in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has announced the rollout of the ‘Gaja Mitra’ scheme, which was first mentioned in the state budget.
Under this initiative, the state government has identified 80 vulnerable locations across the most conflict-prone districts of Goalpara, Udalguri, Nagaon, Baksa, Sonitpur, Golaghat, Jorhat, and Biswanath to implement community-based mitigation measures.
Speaking about the scheme after the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Chief Minister Sarma said, “The Gaja Mitra Scheme is our commitment to reduce the tragic confrontations between humans and elephants. At each identified location, a rapid action team of eight local community members will be formed to respond swiftly to any conflict situations. In addition, we will develop elephant habitats by planting bamboo and Napier grass, providing an alternative food source for elephants so that they do not encroach on human settlements. We are also making arrangements for solar fencing to create safe boundaries. Our aim is to ensure that both humans and elephants coexist peacefully in Assam.”
The urgency of such measures is underscored by a recent report from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), which paints a stark picture of the human-elephant conflict in the state. Between 2000 and 2023, Assam recorded over 1,400 human deaths due to encounters with elephants, while 1,209 elephants lost their lives during the same period—626 of them due to direct human actions.
Electrocution emerged as the leading cause of unnatural elephant deaths, claiming 209 elephants over 23 years. Other significant factors included accidental deaths (127), various anthropogenic stressors (97), train collisions (67), poisoning (62), poaching (55), retaliatory killings (5), and vehicle collisions (4). Divisions such as Nagaon Territorial, Sonitpur West, Dhanasiri, and Karbi Anglong East reported the highest elephant mortality rates.
Adult male elephants, critical to maintaining herd dynamics and forest ecology, were found to be disproportionately affected by threats like electrocution and retaliatory killings. The WII report attributes the grim numbers to poorly maintained power lines, expansion of railway tracks through elephant corridors, and illegal electrified fencing drawn from distribution lines.
From 2000 to 2023, Assam also witnessed 1,806 recorded conflict incidents, resulting in 1,468 human deaths and 337 injuries. A seasonal trend was noted, with monsoon months witnessing a spike in encounters, likely due to elephants straying into human settlements in search of food and shelter when natural habitats shrink.
The ‘Gaja Mitra’ scheme is expected to focus on community involvement and long-term ecological measures to create a safer environment for both communities and the state’s elephant population, which plays a vital role in maintaining forest health and biodiversity.