Madras HC for panels to assess captive elephants’ status

Appearing before the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu, Rangarajan Narasimhan, the party-in-person, submitted that mahouts were being summarily removed by the HR&CE Department based on the authorities’ whims and fancies. The advertisement seeking mahouts and assistant mahouts for Srirangam temple revealed that the elephants were without mahouts, he said. 

Another gross anomaly in recruitment was that the interview was being conducted by the HR&CE executive officer, who do not have any domain or expert knowledge in handling elephants, the petitioner said, adding that this has resulted in people’s mere acquaintance with elephant being a qualification to be appointed mahout. 

Asking the State to immediately set up the district level committees for the welfare of elephants so that the committees were in place in a few months, the bench posted the plea for further hearing by a week to enable Elsa Foundation make a Power Point presentation on how best captive elephants can he handled. 

Earlier, the bench also suggested the creation of a committee comprising senior level officials from HR&CE, Forest and Animal Husbandry departments and create 10 pockets of green belt across the State utilising the abundant temple land lying unused. This would help create a natural habitat for captive elephants within 50 km radius from the respective pocket. The bench noted that they would also enable parallel afforestation campaign. 

The bench also recorded the submission by the counsel appearing for Srirangam temple that a 6.73-acre plot on the banks of Kollidam river has been identified for lodging the two temple elephants and Forest Department’s suggestion was sought on the feasibility of creating a natural habitat for the elephants.