Bhopal: Kranti Bai, a 42-year-old resident of Sanosi village in Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh, had set out with her husband, Umesh Kol (43), on May 19 to collect tendu leaves — their primary source of income during the summer. That evening, Umesh was trampled to death by a wild elephant.
Bai had hoped to receive the ₹25 lakh compensation that was announced by Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav in November 2024 for victims of human-animal conflict within forest areas. However, she said that she has so far received only ₹8 lakh — the compensation amount that was in place before the announcement of the increased relief — recalling how Umesh had urged her to flee when he was picked up in an elephant’s trunk that evening.
Forest officials said they are unsure how to disburse the remaining ₹17 lakh, as the government is yet to formally notify the revised compensation.
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Bai is not alone. Since the announcement, 17 people — including 10 in the past two months alone — were killed in tiger and elephant attacks, including a woman and a minor. None of their families have received the enhanced compensation.
{{/usCountry}}Bai is not alone. Since the announcement, 17 people — including 10 in the past two months alone — were killed in tiger and elephant attacks, including a woman and a minor. None of their families have received the enhanced compensation.
{{/usCountry}}HT sent queries to the chief minister’s office on May 28, 2025, but there has been no response. The story will be updated once a response is received.
The announcement of the revised compensation was made after two men were killed by wild elephants, followed by the deaths of 11 elephants in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in the last week of October.
A senior government official told HT that the announcement was made by Yadav without any official notification. “In fact, no money for enhanced compensation has been provided in the budget (presented in March 2025) also,” he added.
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“We are receiving applications from different divisions for payment of enhanced compensation, and we are in a fix as money cannot be provided without formal notification,” a senior forest department official said.
Bai has written to the forest headquarters requesting the remaining amount.
“Two days ago, we handed over ₹8 lakh but we don’t know how to provide the remaining ₹17 lakh,” Shahdol divisional forest officer Taruna Verma said.
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Meanwhile, Shahdol district collector Kedar Singh said, “This is a matter for the forest department. We can’t release funds without authentication.”
In Umesh’s case, principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) Subhranjan Sen said, “We are trying to arrange money from discretionary funds and the chief minister’s office by treating it as a special case, but we will try to fulfill the promise.”
In Madhya Pradesh, data shows an increase in deaths of humans due to human-animal conflict in the last decade. According to forest data, an average of 48 people died in such conflicts in 2019, which has increased to 81 per year in the past five years, i.e., between 2020 and 2024.