Lemru Elephant Reserve

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State government of Chhattisgarh proposed to reduce the area of Lemru elephant reserve. 

About Lemru Elephant reserve

• The proposal for the Lemru Elephant reserve was passed unanimously by the Assembly in 2005 and got central approval in 2007 with an area of 450sq km.
• The state government notified the reserve(as a conservation reserve) under Section 36A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 or WLPA. Elephant reserves are not recognised under the WLPA.
• It is located in Korba district of the state.
• The state Forest and Environment Department has proposed to decrease the area of the proposed reserve from 1,995 sq km to 450 sq km.
•  Lemru is one of two elephant reserves planned to prevent human-animal conflict in the region, with elephants moving into Chhattisgarh from Odisha and Jharkhand.
• As per letter of the then Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) the reserve is part of an elephant corridor that connects Lemru (Korba), Badalkhol (Jashpur), Tamorpingla (Surguja).
• Badalkhol-Tamorpingla is also a elephant reserve in the state.

Why is the state government planning to reduce the area of reserve?

• The area proposed under the reserve is part of the Hasdeo Aranya forests, a very diverse biozone that is also rich in coal deposits. 
• Of 22 coal blocks in the area, seven have already been allotted with mines running in three, and in the process of being established in the other four. 
• As per the forest officials,  the biggest challenge in increasing the reserve area was that several coal mines would become unusable.

Importance of the reserve

• Elephants are found in five divisions of the state. 
• North Chhattisgarh alone is home to over 240 elephants. More than 150 elephants have died in the state over the last 20 years, including 16 between June and October 2020.
• Elephants in Chhattisgarh are relatively new; according to experts, they started moving into undivided Madhya Pradesh in 1990. 
• While MP had a policy of pushing back the animals coming from Jharkhand, after Chhattisgarh was formed, the lack of a formal policy allowed elephants to use as a corridor a route in the north and central parts of the state. 
• As these creatures were relatively new, human-animal conflict arose when elephants began wandering into populated areas in search of food.