Mumbai, Nov 18 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday directed that a proposal to declare the increasing problem of leopard attacks on humans in the state as a ‘state disaster’ should be presented in the next cabinet meeting.

Also, a proposal to exclude leopards from Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act and include them in Schedule 2 should be prepared and submitted.

He also directed that cages should be installed immediately at necessary places to control leopards attacking people.

Chief Minister also directed the concerned departments to start two rescue centres for the treatment and rehabilitation of leopards in Pune district in the next two to three months.

On Tuesday, the Chief Minister chaired a meeting amid a rise in the number of deaths in leopard attacks, especially in Pune, Ahilyanagar and some districts from the Konkan region.

“Leopards are included in Schedule One. Therefore, there are limitations on catching and killing man-eating leopards. Therefore, a proposal should be sent to the Central government to remove leopards from Schedule One. Permission for the sterilisation of leopards has been received from the Central government. Therefore, man-eating leopards should be found and sterilised,” said the Chief Minister.

Fadnavis said that leopard attacks have increased in the state, adding that to curb them, two time-bound measures should be taken: urgent and long-term.

“In the urgent measures, leopards near villages and cities should be found and captured. For this, the help of drones should be taken. Funds should be made available from the District Planning Committee for the necessary materials to capture leopards, such as cages, vehicles and manpower,” he said.

He further stated that in the long term, leopards should be sterilised. Also, plans should be prepared to immediately find a place to set up two rescue centres in the Pune district to keep the captured man-eating leopards.

He instructed that the capacity of the existing rescue centres in Gorewada in Nagpur, and other places, should be increased.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that it has also been decided that schools in districts where leopard attacks are reported will operate between 9.30 am and 4 pm for the safety of the children.

–IANS

sj/dan