Kaziranga: Little did his family of four realize, when Patiram Das who worked as a forest guard in Kaziranga National Park (KNP), died in a road accident on 24^th February 2005 that his life was insured by a group insurance scheme of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). Five months later, on 19^th August 2005 the cheque of rupees one lakh his bereaved wife Lakhimai Das received along with her three teenage children from the Director of KNP, brought hope to her family.

Patiram Das was the only breadwinner in the family. On that fateful morning, a speeding bus on National Highway 37 mowed Das, who was on his way to the Bokakhat range office of KNP.

Murali Pai of Wildlife Trust of India said, “The cheque was handed over to the widow of the deceased in the presence of forest staff of KNP and staff of Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), at a small ceremony in the KNP Director’s office at Bokakhat”.

N. K. Vasu, the Director of KNP lauded the efforts of WTI for helping forest guards across all protected areas and sanctuaries in India and said that this single generous contribution towards the KNP staff would be a pertinent example of help and support in adversity, extended by WTI for forest staff in the country.

This unique insurance scheme was initiated by WTI in the year 2001 under its Van Rakshak Programme (VRP), for providing life insurance cover to forest guards and casual workers of all protected areas in the country. Till date, forest staffs covering 21 states in India are insured under this programme. It aims to compensate the bereaved families within the shortest possible time.

The policy-holder can claim the insured amount in case of permanent partial or permanent and total disability. In the case of death, the nominee can claim a sum of Rs. one lakh through the concerned manager of the Protected Area.

The policy stipulates that the claim should be lodged within 15 days from the date of accident and this condition can only be waived under special circumstances. A death certificate supported by a post mortem report / FIR giving cause of death is required as supporting document for the claim. All forest department employees of the rank of range forest officer and below on field patrol duties are eligible.

According to Meetu Gupta, Asst Programme Officer VRP, “Four cases of insurance claims were made in Assam between 2003 and 2005, out of which three were from Kaziranga National Park and one from Orang National Park . In the Orang case the victim’s family was provided with an ex-gratia amount of Rs. 25,000 as his name was not listed in the Protected Area Staff Status (PASS) list”.

PASS is an updated list of all forest staff of protected areas and sanctuaries in the country, which is maintained by WTI for all eligible policy holders. The updated list is periodically forwarded to the insurance company for their reference and settlement of insurance claims.

The VRP division addresses the critical need of those who risk their lives in protecting our wildlife and habitats. Issues pertaining to forest staff that are responsible for anti poaching operations are of utmost importance and need to be addressed adequately for effective enforcement of our protected areas. The insurance scheme provides confidence and moral courage to forest staff and their families by addressing their financial insecurities, to perform their duties fearlessly and efficiently.

The Van Rakshak Programme is instrumental in providing financial, infrastructural support, job enrichment inputs and essential anti-poaching equipment to forest guards in several protected areas of the country.