Increase no. of licensed hunters to 400: Speaker

Patna: State assembly Speaker Prem Kumar on Tuesday asked the officials concerned to increase the number of licensed hunters/shooters to 400 and to simplify the application process for hunting ‘ghorparas’ in the state.The meeting was convened to address a starred question raised in the House by BJP MLA Rajneesh Kumar. It also deliberated on the remuneration to be paid to hunters, the procedure for farmers to apply for grants or assistance in cases of crop damage caused by antelopes, the assessment of such damage by the concerned department, the amount and mode of compensation, and the publicity of the related scheme.During the meeting, officials informed that only 13 shooters are currently licensed to hunt ‘ghorparas’ in the state. The Speaker directed the agriculture department to ensure better implementation and closer monitoring of the scheme.A detailed review was also undertaken on the proposal to clearly declare snakes as wild animals and to provide compensation for snakebite deaths and injuries on par with those caused by other wild animals. It was noted that the disaster management department presently provides compensation of Rs 4 lakh for snakebite deaths and injuries, whereas compensation for deaths and injuries caused by wild animals stands at Rs 10 lakh.The Speaker instructed departmental officials to complete the necessary formalities to declare snakes as wild animals and to ensure that compensation of Rs 10 lakh is also provided in cases of snakebite deaths and injuries.The meeting was attended by Rajneesh Kumar, MLAs Jibesh Kumar and Mithilesh Tiwari, Anand Kishor, additional chief secretary of the environment, forest and climate change department, and senior officials from the agriculture and panchayati raj departments.