Fast track courts recommended for wild life crime

New Delhi, June 2 (UNI) The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Forest has recommended setting up of fast track courts for quick settlement of wildlife crime cases as an effective step for conservation of endangered species.

The panel noted that crime related to wild life often took long to be punished, resulting in encouragement to potential perpetrators. To avoid this situation, it recommended that fast track courts should be set up. This, it said, would go a long way in conservation of endangered species like tigers, elephants and rhinos etc.

It also felt that the Ministry has not done enough to persuade the international community to adopt stringent measures and provide enough coopertaion in curbing illegal trade in wildlife parts.

''It is important for the Ministry to take proactive and strong measures on this matter. It should take up this issue with the international community through Convention on Trade in Endangered Species on Wild Fauna and Flora(CITES),'' it said Recognising that wild life conservation demands extremely devoted and highly trained field staff, the committee has also recommended special packages and amenities for them.

Quoting from the Tiger Task Force report, it noted with concern that 18.2 per cent of posts for field staff like forest guards, foresters and rangers across 28 tiger reserves were vacant. This understaffing, it said, has been cited as one of main reason for depletion of tigers in the reserves.

It recommended greater incentives and amenities like hard area allowance, free rationing etc for forest guards combined with basic equipment like wireless sets, cell phones and vehicles etc .

The committee's remarks came while considering the demand for allocation of Rs 142.98 crore for 2006-2007 by the Forest and Environment Ministry for its Wild Life Preservation Programmes.

It said while the sum demanded were impressive, the objective of wildlife conservation could not be accomplished unless the staff was adequate, well trained, satisfied with its working conditions and armed with modern equipment to perform its job.

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