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Amid a rise in bear and leopard attacks, the Uttarakhand government on Saturday said it will set up wildlife sterilisation, rescue and rehabilitation centres, and grant range officers greater powers to “deal with” wild animals by amending rules under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
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Uttarakhand has been witnessing a spate of human-wildlife conflict, with a woman attacked by a bear in Dehradun on Thursday. The government has decided to install solar fencing and sensor-based alert systems, along with modern wildlife sterilisation and rehabilitation centres, across districts.
Speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that in areas where wild animals such as elephants, blue bulls (nilgai), bears, leopards and monkeys damage agriculture and horticulture crops, physical infrastructure or human life, effective steps will be taken to reduce human-wildlife conflict by developing security systems through solar fencing and sensor-based alert mechanisms in a phased and planned manner.
Solar fencing and sensor based alert systems will be installed for effective prevention of human-wildlife conflict in the state. Along with this, modern wildlife sterilization centers and rescue and rehabilitation centers will be opened in every district. In this regard, officials have been given two weeks…
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) December 20, 2025
The Chief Minister said a mechanism to check the population of wild animals such as langurs, monkeys, pigs and bears will be implemented by setting up “modern wildlife sterilisation centres” under the Forest Department in every district. “The rescue and rehabilitation centres for identified wild animals in human-wildlife conflict will be opened in all districts of the state. For this, a minimum of 10 Nali in hilly forest areas and a minimum of 1 acre of land in plain forest areas will be reserved,” he said.
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The Chief Minister said that for effective prevention of human-wildlife conflict, ranger-level forest officers will be empowered by decentralising powers to deal with violent animals by amending rules under the central Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. He also said he discussed the issue with Union Forest and Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav on Friday.
Kerala had earlier this year sought the Union government’s nod to kill wild animals that pose a threat to human life and property, seeking amendments to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, to allow such action when animals enter human habitats.
Experts point out that sterilisation may have side effects and has not proved successful in the case of rhesus macaques in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand despite years of attempts.
“What is required is a comprehensive policy, including amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act, empowering DFOs and ROs to act quickly when an animal is posing a risk,” a scientist said, adding that a specialised unit for human-wildlife conflict management needs to be established, deploying technology to alert people and mitigate conflict.
