Bhanjanagar: Stricter wildlife rules have been enforced in Odisha as forest personnel are now authorised to file case diaries in wildlife crime investigations. The matter came to the fore at a training camp on wildlife and forest law held recently on the Lal Singh Nursery premises under the North Ghumusar forest division in Bhanjanagar of Ganjam district. The event aimed to educate forest personnel on the handling and processing of wildlife crime cases under the newly amended legal framework. Advocate of the Orissa High Court and former honorary wildlife warden Ashok Pattnaik led the session, explaining the provisions of the revised wildlife rules.
The Central government amended the Wildlife Protection Act in 2022, and the state government has implemented its modifications to the 1974 version of the law, which came into force in Odisha April 30, Pattnaik said. The revised regulations are significantly stricter than the previous ones. Notably, forest personnel are now authorised to file case diaries in wildlife crime investigations. The rules mandate the use of specific forms for inventory, complaint filings, and crime descriptions. Under the new guidelines, any accused caught within a tiger reserve, following conviction, will face fines ranging from a minimum of Rs 5 lakh to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh along with imprisonment of three to seven years.
However, any wildlife crime committed outside the reserve will attract a penalty of Rs 25,000 up to Rs 1 lakh. Pattnaik also emphasised that the updated national laws, including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), all enacted in 2023 will now apply to forest offences. Another resource person Rajendra Pradhan, a government advocate at the Bhanjanagar court, said many accused previously exploited legal loopholes to escape punishment. The new rules will make prosecution and conviction more straightforward, provided that forest personnel are aware of the law and correctly apply its provisions. Divisional Forest Officer Himanshu Shekhar Mohanty inaugurated the training camp as the chief guest.
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In the second half of the session, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Rashmi Ranjan Sain provided detailed instructions on how to write and maintain case diaries. Other officials present included ACF Bibek Das, advocate Dhurba Tripathy, Mujagada forest ranger Bimbadhar Sahu, and central forest division officer Prithviraj Pradhan. Foresters Anup Bisoi and Jeevan Tripathy assisted in the programme.
