A cabinet meeting has been held under the chair of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in CM house Raipur on August 27 has unanimously approved the long-awaited demand of creation of Lemru Elephant Reserve and paved the way for the protection of elephant in Chhattisgarh. It must be noted that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, while addressing 73rd Independence Day celebration in Raipur, announced formation of ‘Lemru Elephant Reserve’ in the state. The promise made by the CM has finally got final nod from his cabinet.
LER will be one-of-its-kind of elephant reserve in the nation, which will not only serve as protected area and permanent habitat for the wild tuskers but also to minimize the number of human-elephant conflicts, destruction of properties, loss of human lives caused due to wild elephants. Moreover, it will contribute in conserving bio-diversity and wildlife. It should be noted that with the announcement of establishment of LER, State government has finally fulfilled long awaited demand and provided respite to the sufferings of people the elephant affected areas.
LER will be set-up as per the report and recommendations of centrally constituted Special High-Power Technical Committee (SHPTC). On the report of SHPTC, Government of India gave its consent for the formation of LER on 1995.48 sq. kms of forest areas on October 5, 2007. It includes forest lands of Korba, Kathghora and Dharamjaigarh Forest Divisions. The technical committee recommendations states that LER will provide huge protected area for the conservation of wild elephants where they get abundant amount of water, food and other facilities. These wild elephants will survive in better way when the facilities will be available in the habitat. They will venture lesses into populated areas, reducing the number of man-elephant conflicts, also lesser damage of crops, property and human lives as well.
