• Dep. Environment Min. blames ‘misinfo by Min. official’, says chasing from villages to forests ongoing as DWC requires no Min. permission 

Contradicting a statement made by an official of the Ministry of Environment that approval had not been granted for the ongoing elephant drive in the Hambantota and Anuradhapura Districts, Deputy Minister of Environment Anton Jayakody said the operation is being carried out in accordance with the proper procedure.

Speaking to The Daily Morning, he said the programme to drive wild elephants that have entered villages back into forest areas is being implemented by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) in line with due procedures. 

“It is the DWC that implements this. Somebody has said something, but that is misinformation. There is no permission needed from the Ministry. The DWC has done this in coordination with the relevant District Coordination Committees,” he said.

The DWC comes under the purview of the Ministry.

When questioned as to whether the operation had followed the proper procedure, he replied: “Yes. There is no need for special permission from the Ministry. This will continue.”

Earlier, a senior spokesperson from the Ministry had told the media that the Ministry had not granted approval for the elephant drive and had only learned of the operation after media reports emerged. The official had also said the Ministry had subsequently instructed Wildlife Conservation officers to suspend the activities immediately.

As announced earlier, the ongoing operation involves around 2,000 personnel from the DWC, the Air Force, the Police, and the Civil Defence Force. Environmental groups have urged the authorities to review the initiative, citing research indicating that elephant drives are rarely effective and may cause further disruption to elephant herds.