NPP Nagaland urges Kerala model for human–elephant conflict mitigation

DIMAPUR — The National People’s Party (NPP) Nagaland unit has expressed concern over the incident on September 14 at Lichuyan village in Wokha district, where a herd of about 20 elephants destroyed several betel nut farms, leaving farmers in distress.

In a statement on Monday, the party conveyed solidarity with the affected farmers and called upon the state government to release immediate compensation and relief assistance.

It further stated that “piecemeal measures” were no longer enough, given the scale and recurrence of human–elephant conflict in Wokha, Mokokchung and other districts.

The NPP urged the state government to adopt the “Kerala model,” under which human–wildlife conflict has been declared a state-specific disaster within the disaster management framework.

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The model enables use of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for compensation, deployment of rapid response teams with trained forest personnel and local volunteers, inter-departmental coordination between Forest, Disaster Management, Police, and Village Guards, and scientific prevention measures such as solar fencing, trenches, and community-based warning systems.

Declaring human–elephant conflict a state-specific disaster in Nagaland, the party maintained, would ensure faster response, stronger accountability, and adequate resources to protect both human lives and livelihoods.

The NPP Nagaland also appealed to the central government to extend such recognition nationwide by bringing human–elephant conflict under the ambit of a nationally managed disaster, ensuring equal priority across all affected states.