The Government has proposed doubling compensation for deaths and total disability caused by human–elephant conflict from Rs. 1 million to Rs. 2 million per victim under the 2027 Budget, which President Anura Kumara Dissanayake presented to Parliament yesterday (12).
The Budget also proposes raising compensation for damage to houses from Rs. 200,000 to Rs. 1 million and for partial disability from Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 500,000. Compensation for damage to other property would rise from Rs. 200,000 to Rs. 500,000.
Railway warnings, fencing and elephant corridors
The Government plans to expand nationwide a railway early-warning system that uses artificial intelligence and thermal cameras to detect wild elephants near tracks. The proposal follows a pilot project aimed at reducing collisions between trains and elephants.
The Budget sets aside Rs. 250 million to build new electric fences and repair existing ones, with a further Rs. 200 million to come from the Wildlife Conservation Fund.
The Government also proposes declaring the elephant corridor between Nachchaduwa Wewa and Maha Kanadarawa Wewa a wildlife reserve, following the release of the Handapanagala, Koholankala and Wetahira Kanda corridors in 2026. A further Rs. 90 million from the Budget, supplemented by Wildlife Conservation Fund resources, would go towards restoring dried-up tanks within wildlife reserves to reduce the need for animals to enter settlements in search of water during dry spells.
Elephant transit home and wildlife hospital
The Budget proposes a 15-acre Elephant Transit Home in Polonnaruwa, with Rs. 5 billion to be allocated in phases from the Wildlife Conservation Fund. The facility is intended to reduce the risks of transporting stranded elephant calves long distances to the existing transit home in Udawalawe.
A further Rs. 700 million from the fund has been earmarked for a wildlife hospital on a three-acre site within the Nuwaragam Forest Reserve in Anuradhapura.
Higher fines for offences against elephants
Under proposed amendments to the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance and the Increase of Fines Act, fines for killing, hunting, shooting, wounding or capturing a wild elephant would rise from Rs. 150,000–500,000 to Rs. 500,000–1 million. Existing prison terms would continue to apply. Fines for unlawful possession of an elephant would rise from Rs. 150,000–250,000 to Rs. 500,000–1 million.
The Department of Wildlife Conservation has recruited 313 wildlife guards and 3,451 electric fence maintenance assistants, and funding has been set aside to recruit 114 wildlife rangers. The department’s field operations have also been equipped with 16 double cabs, 84 single cabs, 181 motorcycles and nine tractors.
