Suggestion to release goats in forest to curb leopard attacks laughable: Ajit Pawar
Nagpur (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday made light of the state forest minister's suggestion to release goats into the forest to keep leopards away from human settlements, saying that apart from big cats, villagers will also feast on this prey base.
During an informal interaction with reporters here, Pawar said the idea appeared to have originated from the forest department.
"Instead of leopards, even villagers will feast on the goats released as prey," he said with a chuckle.
Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik has suggested that forest officials release goats in large numbers in forests to stop leopards from entering human settlements in search of prey.
"If four people are killed in leopard attacks, the state must pay Rs 1 crore (as compensation). So I told officials, instead of paying compensation after deaths, release goats worth Rs 1 crore into the forest so leopards do not venture into human habitats," the minister had said.
When asked about the government's plans to tackle the rising incidents involving leopards, Pawar said leopards were breeding and living in certain pockets of Maharashtra, especially in sugarcane-growing regions.
He said the government had also made enquiries with Vantara zoo, which had conveyed that it could take only up to 50 leopards.
"I have heard there are nearly 2,000 leopards in Maharashtra. In such a situation, we need to think of other measures," Pawar added.
He said sterilisation could be an effective option, but its impact would be seen only over a long period, as even after sterilisation, leopards would continue to hunt for food.
Pawar said the government was working to enhance the capacity of existing rescue centres and set up new facilities to address the issue.
Ahilyanagar, Pune, and Nashik districts were reporting the highest number of leopard-related incidents, according to the state forest department.
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Rajasthan: ACB court sends former IAS Subodh Agarwal to 2-day police remand in JJM scam
Jaipur (PTI): Retired IAS officer Subodh Agarwal, arrested in connection with the alleged Rs 960-crore Jal Jeevan Mission scam, was produced before an ACB court on Monday, which sent him to two days' police remand.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau had sought a three-day remand for further questioning in the matter, but the court granted two days' custody.
The order was passed by the ACB Court-1.
A team from the ACB arrested Agarwal on Thursday in connection with the multi-crore Jal Jeevan Mission corruption case.
He was sent to a three-day police remand on Friday. On completion of the remand period, the ACB produced him in court.
Agarwal was serving as the additional chief secretary of the public health engineering department when the alleged scam took place.
Some firms had allegedly secured tenders by submitting forged completion certificates in connivance with officers. Last month, the ACB arrested nine persons, including senior engineers and retired officials, in connection with the scam. Earlier, the ACB had arrested contractors.
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