Tamil Nadu Budget 2026: Farmers welcome announcements to minimise man–wildlife conflict

Published 6 August 2026 · india

The Tamil Nadu Government’s move to scientifically minimise the man – wildlife conflict, which even leads to loss of precious life in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi

The Tamil Nadu Government’s move to scientifically minimise the man – wildlife conflict, which even leads to loss of precious life in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts, will be a great relief to the farming community, especially the agriculturists having their ranches close to the Western Ghats. In the very recent sloth bear attack at Mela Ambur near Kadayam in Tenkasi district on July 31, 61-year-old G. Murugan from a village near Papanasam was mauled to death. The forest personnel, who arrived at the spot to rescue the farmer after receiving alert from the public about this attack, could not even chase the ferocious animal back into the forest. In a similar attack at Puliyangudi in Tenkasi district, a crop-raiding sloth bear inflicted grievous bleeding injuries on three women farmhands - Ramalakshmi, 42 and Palaniammal, 43, Seihu Ammal, 48 – on August 7 last year. Lemon grower 69-year-old Thirumalaisamy of Puliyangudi had a miraculous escape when a gaur attacked him in February when he had gone to his farm near the Western Ghats. Elephants also damage the crops, including coconut, whenever these ‘gentle giants’ invade the ranches. While the wild animal invasion has become almost a routine affair for the farmers having their fields close to the Western Ghats, the agriculturists having their ranches even in the plains like Alangulam, Maanur, Cheranmahadevi etc.

suffer huge crop loss, thanks to the invading wild boar herds. The continuing wild animal invasion into the farms to cause extensive damage to the standing crops in the ranches along the Western Ghats and man – wild animal conflict has strengthened the farmers’ long-standing demand for erection of solar fence along the border of the Western Ghats to check the entry of the animals. The State Government’s proposal in the Budget presented on August 5, 2026 for comprehensive human-wildlife-conflict mitigation scheme, incorporating scientific measures such as hanging solar fences and steel wire rope fencing, community-based protection of forests, appointment of forest protection staff, and GPS-enabled vehicles for conflict management, night patrolling, security and monitoring, across 100 conflict-prone villages in Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Krishnagiri, The Nilgiris, Salem, Theni, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Tiruppur districts may bring the much-needed relief. An amount of ₹20 crore has been allocated for this purpose in the current financial year “The government, having understood the gravity of this issue, should take steps for erecting solar electric fence from Thirukkurungudi to Sivagiri in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts, as this 140 Km-long stretch often witnesses man – wildlife conflict. Besides enduring crop loss, the farmers often suffer grievous injuries and even lose their life in these attacks,” says P.