Will the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2013, introduced by environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan in the Rajya Sabha in the current session of Parliament act as a deterrent to wildlife crime?
The amended bill aims to strengthen the legal framework in the protection of various wild animals and plants by seeking to increase the jail term for serious crimes related to endangered animals specified under the Act to not less than five years, with a possibility of extending this up to seven years.
It also wants the fine to be levied to not be less than `1 lakh but this amount can be increased to `25 lakh.
The amended bill also stipulates stricter punishment for poaching inside a tiger reserve with imprisonment being increased to no less than seven years and more.
On the ground, activists believe the situation is completely different. They cite the example of poacher Sansar Chand, who under interrogation by the police confessed to have killed 470 tigers and thousands of other wildlife species.
Having already spent over eight years in jail, Chand has already secured bail in several cases levied against him in the Wildlife Act and is expected to be released on bail by the end of this moth. Two of his colleagues, both alleged poachers, have already been released on bail.
“Chand was arrested for the first time in 1974 when he was just 18 years old. There is no point in blaming the police. It is the forest department which fails to take action on the ground which is why poaching is showing a marked upward curve,” said Biswajit Mohanty heading the Wildlife Society of Orissa.
“The Wildlife Act was amended in 2006 conferring statutory powers with the National Tiger Conservation Authority to take action against those caught hunting inside tiger reserves. But so far, the NTCA has not filed a single case so far. In Orissa, cases are being dragged on in courts for 20 years and more without any conviction taking place,” he said.