Kerala Cabinet Clears Draft Forest Amendment Bill 2025

Swift Summary

• The Kerala Cabinet approved the draft Kerala Forest Amendment Bill, 2025, to facilitate immediate action against wild animals attacking humans in residential areas.
• The Bill empowers the Chief Wildlife Warden to order the killing of perilous wild animals without requiring lengthy procedural approvals.
• provisions include birth control or translocation of wild species when their populations increase in certain regions (Schedule II), and some responsibilities are transferred from Union Government to State Government.
• The Bill allows State Governments to declare certain wild animals as vermin if their populations grow excessively, enabling unrestricted measures such as hunting and consumption of meat from these species.
• Local self-governance officials are appointed honorary wildlife wardens for better implementation of guidelines related to conflict-prone wildlife management.
• Sandalwood trees on private lands can now be sold through forest Department outlets with profits distributed directly to farmers.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The approval of this bill signals KeralaS attempt at balancing human-wildlife conflict management while preserving ecological considerations. By reducing dependency on federal clearance mechanisms for urgent interventions-such as classifying vermin or dealing with animal attacks-it could expedite response efforts where lives and livelihoods are at imminent risk. Though, broader discussions may arise regarding ethical conservation practices versus economic interests in wildlife population control.

The commercialization measures around sandalwood also indicate a focus on harmonizing environmental stewardship with agricultural profit-sharing, potentially incentivizing farmers toward sustainable land use. This progressive model challenges existing frameworks but requires robust monitoring systems to ensure actions remain within legal protections laid out for endangered species under current biodiversity laws.

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