Mumbai, March 12 Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik said on Thursday that the state cabinet has approved a proposal to move leopards to Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, thereby protecting people from legal action if they kill the big cat entering human habitations.
The state government will seek approval from the Centre for the move, Naik said in the assembly, responding to a calling attention motion raised by MLA Satyajit Deshmukh.
This has been done in view of the increasing incidents of leopards entering human settlements, the minister said.
Once leopards are moved from Schedule I to Schedule II of the wildlife protection framework, people will not face legal action if they kill a big cat that enters human habitation and poses a threat, he said.
The minister also said that directions have been issued to declare leopards that enter human settlements and cause casualties as "man-eaters".
The state had earlier sent a proposal to the Centre for the sterilization of 150 leopards. The Union government has permitted, on a pilot basis, the capture and sterilization of five female leopards, and action is being taken accordingly, Naik informed.
He said that forest personnel were conducting regular patrols in areas sensitive to human-leopard conflict and schools in such regions were advised to keep flexible timings.
The capacity of the existing rescue centres is being expanded to accommodate captured tigers, leopards and other carnivorous wildlife. Efforts are also underway to transfer captured leopards to zoos and wildlife rescue centres in other states after obtaining permission from the Central Zoo Authority, he added.
