New Delhi: Expressing serious concern on the death of seven elephants due to electrocution in Dhenkanal Saturday, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Tuesday slapped Rs 1 crore penalty on the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) of Odisha, citing negligence of duty.
“CESU Odisha will deposit Rs1 crore fine to chief wildlife conservation warden,” the tribunal said. “CESU is primarily responsible for the elephants’ death,” the NGT said in its oral observation.
A bench led by NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel also constituted a three-member team comprising representatives from the ministry of environment and forest, Wildlife Institute Dehradun and National Board for Wildlife in this regard.
“The team will visit the area and submit a report in the tribunal after which we will pass directions in the matter,” observed the bench.
The green body took sue motto cognizance of the matter after media reports of seven elephants’ death in Dhenkanal district.
Notably, as many as seven elephants were electrocuted after the herd came in contact with a high voltage live wire near Kamalanga village under Sadar range in Dhenkanal district late Friday night. Thirteen others of the herd of 20, however, managed to escape. Of the dead, one was a calf while two others were males and four were females.