^{Family members of the late Pothi Ram Yadav receiving an ex-gratia cheque from WTI’s Aniruddha Mookerjee}

Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, April 29, 2017: IFAW-WTI has provided ex-gratia support of Rs 100,000 to the family of the late Pothi Ram Yadav, employed as Temporary Staff in Kanha Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh. Mr Yadav died due to electrocution while on duty in March this year.

Bhagota Bai, the late Mr Yadav’s widow, received the ex-gratia cheque on April 19 in the presence of Aniruddha Mookerjee, Principal Investigator of WTI’s Wildlife Crime Control Division, and forest officials of Kanha Tiger Reserve.

IFAW-WTI’s Supplementary Accident Assurance Scheme is the only NGO-run scheme in India that brings frontline forest staff under an ex-gratia umbrella, providing coverage of up to Rs 100,000 in case of death and a partial amount in case of permanent disability.

The forest departments of 23 states have joined this scheme thus far, with over 20,000 frontline forest personnel across the country having been covered against death or disability while on duty. Over 150 families have availed the ex-gratia benefit in the last 15 years. The Van Rakshak (Guardians of the Wild) Project, under which this scheme falls, has also trained and equipped over 16,000 forest personnel in more than 150 Protected Areas of India, as well as trans-boundary areas in Bhutan.