Bengaluru: The work on the soft release centre - Elephant Sanctuary, which is planned to be built in Bhadra Sanctuary to prevent loss of life and crop damage caused by wild ele-phants in Hassan, Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru areas, will begin in one and a half to two months, said Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre.

Speaking to reporters at Vikas Soudha, he said that the site inspection has already been conducted and the DPR is being prepared to undertake this work at a cost of Rs 53 crore. Every year, an average of 50-60 people die due to wildlife-human conflict. He said that every life is precious and the government is working hard to protect peo-ple’s lives.

In the last 21 months, 6225.31 acres of forest encroachment have been cleared in 1203 cases in the state. In addition, 15422 acres of land have been declared as for-est. If bamboo is grown on the edge of the forest, it acts as a biological and natural barricade.

It prevents forest encroachment. It also provides food for elephants. This helps in controlling elephant-human conflict. Therefore, instructions have been given to grow bamboo in large numbers, he said.

A plan has been formulated to build a huge botanical garden on the model of Lalbagh and Cubbon Park in a 153-acre forest area in Madappana village near Yelahanka in Bengaluru city. The DPR is being prepared and the foundation stone will be laid soon, he said. To protect the rare grasslands around Hesaraghatta Lake in Bengaluru city, 5678 acres of land has been declared as Greater Hesaraghatta Protected Grass-land. The cabinet has also approved this. He said that through this, steps have been taken to protect the green belt in Bengaluru.

HMT case: Hearing in May

The central government-owned HMT has been prevented from selling 443 acres of forest land worth about Rs 14,300 crore to many institutions, including real estate companies, and a legal battle is being fought to get this forest land back. In response to a question, Eshwara Khandre said that the case will come up for hearing next month.

An online system has been implemented to book advance tickets for trekking trails. Last year, forest staff up to the level of DRFO were transferred transparently through counseling. Garudakshi system has been implemented to file online FIRs for forest crimes. He also said that a lot of improvements are being made in the department overall.

Our government is on the verge of completing 2 years of its tenure. We have success-fully implemented 5 guarantees. As a result of these schemes, more than 1 crore people in the state have come above the poverty line. Our government is doing as it says, and I am proud and happy to be a minister in such a government, he said.

Socio-educational survey, not caste census

The Kantaraj Commission has submitted a social and educational survey report, which is not a caste census. The report has been presented in the cabinet and all the ministers have been given a copy of the summary in the report and asked to study it. I am also studying it and will inform our stand in the cabinet meeting, he said in re-sponse to a question.

He assured that the government will take action in such a way that no injustice is done to any caste or

community.