Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday asked Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to clarify a recent circular on transporting captive elephants, raising concerns about how the ministry is identifying the genetic profile of each elephant. Ramesh also asked who is responsible for generating and maintaining this data.
Pointing to several reports and complaints about the illegal transfer, sale, and procurement of elephants, the Union Environment Ministry directed states to ensure compliance with regulations, particularly concerning the genetic profiling of relocated elephants.
In a memorandum dated August 20, addressed to chief wildlife wardens and principal chief forest conservators, the ministry highlighted the Captive Elephant (Transfer and Transport) Rules, aimed at regulating the movement of captive elephants across states.
The memo referenced a key rule that prohibits the transfer of any elephant unless its genetic profile is logged in the ministry’s electronic monitoring system. State officials were instructed to take all steps necessary to adhere to these guidelines.
“In particular attention was drawn to the provision of clause (7) Terms and Conditions, sub-clause (3) which mandates that ‘No transfer of an elephant shall be permissible unless genetic profile of the elephant has been entered in the electronic monitoring application of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’,” the former environment minister said in his letter that he shared on X.
Ramesh said this condition itself raises issues on which there is need for clarity in the public domain.
- How exactly is the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change establishing the genetic profile of each elephant?
- Who is generating this data and maintaining this database?
- How exactly does the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change intend to use this genetic data for the protection of captive and wild elephants?
“I presume that we have the laboratory infrastructure with the necessary sequencing facilities,” Ramesh said.
