Mumbai, July 8 (IANS) Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik on Tuesday told the state council that work is underway to build a wall on all four sides of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park to prevent leopards from entering human settlements.

In his reply to a question raised by Shiv Sena UBT legislator Milind Narvekar, the minister said that various measures are being taken to protect the citizens of Sanjay Gandhi National Park here from leopard attacks.

Similarly, the citizens of this place will be rehabilitated by building houses in the Aarey area outside the national park through the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.

Minister Naik said, “The number of leopards in Sanjay Gandhi National Park is 54. The number of animals for their food is also sufficient. An adequate number of fruit trees are being planted to nurture the small animals. CCTV cameras have been installed inside the park to monitor the movements of wild animals. Consideration is also being given to take the help of a satellite. Monitoring is also being done through patrol teams.”

He informed that three deaths have occurred in leopard attacks in the last few years, and their families have been given assistance of Rs 20 lakhs each.

He further said that awareness is being created on behalf of the government and through social organisations about not leaving children alone.

He added that there are 22 leopards in the leopard health check-up centre, and they are being treated there.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Ashish Jaiswal, in another question told the state council that farmers will not be deprived of compensation in the case of loss of crops even if he has not opted for crop insurance.

In his reply to the BJP member Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil, the minister said, “Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, farmers are provided compensation through the Central and State Governments. In case of loss, assistance should be provided through the government instead of depending on the insurance company. This is the stand of the government, and farmers will not be deprived of compensation for taking out crop insurance.”

Minister Jaiswal said that compensation has been given to farmers in the Solapur district for the crop insurance losses they suffered earlier.

Additional insurance compensation of Rs 81.80 crore has been approved for the remaining 69,954 insurance applications. This amount will be given by the Finance Department in the next three to four days.

–IANS

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