The divisional bench of the High Court in Kerala ordered the government to accept a reimaginated and interdepartmental strategy that would deal with the growing incidents of man conflicts on the Aralam farm in Kanna and Wayanad.
Bench of justice and Jayasankaran Zambiar and justice Joben Sebastian said they visited the farm to gain ideas for the situation there. The court, which observed that the entrances to wild animals, especially elephants, continued despite the measures taken in the last decade, said the tribal settlement was scattered rather than grouped, which is difficult to defend. The settlements were also wedged between dense forests and agricultural land.
There were also pockets of “forest enclaves”, where wild animals often decided to hide after breaking barriers. Even monkeys have become a recurring harassment and showed the insufficiency of reliance only on the physical walls as a discouraging means, the court said and proposed voluntary relocation of tribal farms to the agricultural area. So they could continue their agricultural work on the farm and be paid for their work, ensuring their lives and living.
The main secretary of A. Jayathilak acknowledged the need for complete reimagination. The revised state plan proposed to replace bananas, pineapple, and jackfruits that attracted elephants, ginger, turmeric, cold and cinnamon to deprive the animals of their reason to enter human habitats.
The plan also requires clearing a thick undergrowth in these areas to prevent their use as hiding stains of elephants.
The court quoted chronic administrative obstacles because the farms and tribal relocation fell under various departments, causing delay and disputes. He recommended to place them under one administrative head.
The Government Advisor informed the court that the CEO of the state agricultural company Kerala was appointed official of the administrative service Keral, who was full of supervision of the development and administration of both areas.
On Wayanad, the court noted that the calls were different from the problems of the Aralama farm, taking acknowledged its cross forest and the formula of settlement. While she mentions the role played by Janajagratha Samiti units, she said that this network could be formalized and created an organizational diagram to define roles and responsibility. This could be widespread to other areas prone to conflict in Palakkad, idukki and barraragod.
The Court stated that serious situations demanded drastic measures and informed decisions, and stated that they did not attempt to create policy, but to mediate between citizens and the government to remove bureaucratic roadblocks.
He ordered the government to report on adopted strategies to avoid the conflicts of human acidlif. District collectors Kannur and Wayanad and forest officers were also present at online hearing.
Published – 14 August 2025 9:01
