NPP demands Kerala model for human–elephant conflict mitigation

National People’s Party (NPP) Nagaland unit, has expressed deep concern over the September 14 incident at Lichuyan village, Changpang block, Wokha district, where a herd of about 20 elephants destroyed multiple betel nut farms, leaving farmers in distress and fear.
In a press release, NPP said it stood in solidarity with the affected farmers and urged the State government to release immediate compensation and relief assistance. The party, however, maintained that piecemeal measures were no longer sufficient, as the scale and recurrence of human–elephant conflict in Wokha, Mokokchung and other districts demanded a systematic and scientific approach.
NPP therefore called upon the State government to adopt the “Kerala Model”, where the state has officially declared human–wildlife conflict as a State-Specific Disaster under the Disaster Management framework. According to NPP, this model would allow– use of State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF) for compensation and relief; deployment of rapid response teams with trained forest personnel and local volunteers; Inter-departmental coordination between Forest, Disaster Management, Police, and Village Guards and adoption of scientific prevention methods, including solar fencing, trenches, and community warning systems. Declaring human–elephant conflict as a State-Specific Disaster in Nagaland, the party stated, would ensure faster response, stronger accountability and adequate resources to protect both human lives and livelihoods.
Further, NPP appealed to the Central government to extend this recognition nationwide by bringing human–elephant conflict under the ambit of a Nationally Managed Disaster, so that equal priority was given across all affected states.