Subject: GS 3: Environment
Context: The Supreme Court (SC) directed the Center to conduct a nationwide survey of elephant corridors and take measures to ensure their unobstructed passage across States.
Case Background
- Plea before the Supreme Court: A plea alleged that fireballs were still being used against wild elephants in West Bengal to drive them away from human settlements and croplands, despite the Court’s 2018 directions.
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Key Observations and Directions of the Supreme Court
- No State can block elephant corridors: The Court observed that elephants travel across multiple States and, therefore, no single State can obstruct their traditional pathways.
- No physical blockades: Construction of obstacles or blockades in elephant corridors is unacceptable, even when elephants cause crop damage.
- Nationwide survey: The Center was directed to conduct a fresh nationwide survey to identify obstructions in elephant corridors and submit a comprehensive report on measures taken to prevent and remove them.
- Corridors transcend State boundaries: Elephant pathways are not State-specific, as herds naturally travel long distances across administrative boundaries.
- Inter-State movement: The Court highlighted examples of elephants moving across State and national boundaries:
- Elephants move from Nepal through West Bengal to Jharkhand and other States.
- Elephants in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, move towards Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
- Alternative approach to conflict: The Court emphasised that human–elephant conflict requires solutions other than constructing barriers along elephant routes.
- Ban on Cruel Methods to Drive Elephants: The Court directed the government to examine and ensure implementation of the ban on methods such as: Fireballs, Burning rods, Fire-torches (mashaals), and spikes.
Legal Protection of Elephants
- Schedule I Status: Elephants are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which grants them the highest degree of statutory protection.
- Strict Prohibition: Hunting, capture, and other forms of exploitation of elephants are prohibited, subject to limited exceptions under the Act.
Role of Elephant Corridors in Reducing Human–Elephant Conflict
- Maintaining Natural Movement: Corridors enable elephants to move between feeding, breeding, and resting habitats without entering human-dominated areas.
- Reducing Habitat Fragmentation: Protecting corridors helps counter the impact of roads, railways, settlements, and agricultural expansion that fragment elephant habitats.
- Minimising Crop Damage: Functional corridors reduce the need for elephants to pass through farmlands and settlements, thereby limiting crop losses and livelihood-related conflicts.
- Preventing Dangerous Encounters: Avoiding blockades and encroachments on elephant routes reduces forced encounters between elephants and humans.
- Ensuring Landscape-Level Conservation: Since elephant corridors often cross State boundaries, their protection requires coordinated, landscape-level conservation across multiple States.
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Examples of non-lethal conflict mitigation measures:
- Early-warning systems: Use of SMS/mobile alerts, sirens, and real-time elephant movement alerts to warn communities when herds approach.
- Beehive fences: Placing beehives around farms, as elephants tend to avoid bees and their buzzing.
- Solar-powered fencing: Use low-voltage solar fences to deter elephants without causing serious injury.
- Chili-based deterrents: Chili ropes, chili smoke, and chili-based barriers can discourage elephants from entering farms.
- Trenches and natural barriers: Properly designed trenches can discourage entry into vulnerable agricultural areas without injuring animals.
- Elephant-proof crop planning: Promoting less palatable crops such as chili, citrus, and certain aromatic crops along vulnerable boundaries.
- Community-based response teams: Trained local teams can track elephant movements and guide herds away from settlements using safe, regulated methods.
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19 Aug 2026
