Guwahati, Oct. 18: The Assam government has set up joint co-ordination committees in every district for monitoring the maintenance of the transmission lines to prevent electrocution of elephants.

The committees set up recently in the wake of a rise in such incidents across the state will ascertain whether the guidelines issued by the ministry of environment and forests and the Central Electricity Authority have been followed.

Each committee will comprise the district deputy commissioner, executive engineer of the Assam State Electricity Board, representative of a local NGO and the divisional forest officer either from the wildlife or territorial division.

“Guidelines have been issued time and again by both the agencies for general precautions while setting up of power distribution lines in protected areas and the joint co-ordination committees would find out whether these are being followed,” the chief wildlife warden of Assam, S. Chand, told this correspondent recently.

For instance, the Central Electricity Authority in one of its guidelines says that before designing or construction of any line, a proper survey of the route over which the line is to pass has to be conducted. The line should avoid rough and difficult countryside, forest areas and orchards.

In protected forest areas inhabited by animals, the routing of distribution of lines should ensure that the number of trees required to be felled is minimal.

The line route should have the approval from competent authorities including forest department and finalised after incorporating changes, if any, according to the CEA guidelines.

“The transmission lines are very carelessly laid out and in some places laid very low, leading to electrocution of elephants,” elephant expert Kushal Sharma, who has tranquillised many an elephant in different areas, said.

The latest incident took place on the night of October 10 when a male elephant that strayed into a garden at Saghunbahi tea estate was electrocuted after it came in contact with a power line.

The tea estate falls under Kathiatoli police station in Nagaon district.

Welcoming Dispur’s move, Sharma said a survey should be carried out in the wildlife areas preferably in the elephant corridors on the laying down of the transmission lines and if they have been laid according to the norms.

The CEA guidelines also say that there should be a joint inspection of every power distribution line by officials of the electricity department and the forest department twice a year preferably before and after the monsoon.

The forest department shall inform the power supplier concerned should any accident involving animals take place in an around the forest area.

The power supplier shall submit a report. Security should be strengthened in protected forest areas to prevent poaching.