File picture of a dead elephant at a village.

Cuttack, Jan. 16: Orissa High Court has taken strong exception to the increasing number of deaths of elephants caused by electrocution in Orissa and sought clarification from the state government on what steps it was taking to prevent such deaths.

N.K. Panda, president of the Bhubaneswar-based Citizens’ Apex Association, had sent a letter petition seeking judicial intervention for protection of elephants as the increasing incidence of elephant deaths because of electrocution in Orissa could seriously jeopardise the pachyderm population in the state.

Treating the letter petition as a PIL, the two-judge bench of Chief Justice V. Gopal Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra issued notices to the state government on Friday.

The letter petition said the deaths of elephants from electrocution had raised questions over the efficacy of officials of the state forest department monitoring low-hanging high voltage power lines.

In most of the cases, the deaths had taken place because officials of the state’s forest and power departments had failed to check low-hanging high voltage power lines. The number of electrocution incidents had increased in recent years, but the state government has apparently been a mute spectator, the petition alleged. Official reports indicate that more than 80 elephants were electrocuted during the past seven years. A majority of elephant deaths reported in the state were caused by electrocution. In July-August 2010, at least seven elephants were electrocuted in Dhenkanal, Angul and Keonjhar districts.

Taking note of the high number of elephant deaths due to electrocution in July and August, 2010, the Union ministry of environment and forests had in September asked the state government to take action to prevent such deaths.

A three-member committee, headed by its regional chief conservator of forests, had since been formed to probe the electrocution cases and recommend action.

The committee was to visit the spots and get firsthand information about circumstances leading to electrocution of elephants. Time and again, the electricity department has been asked to take precautions against sagging lines in view of elephants being killed after coming in contact with live wires, forest department officials said.