Elephant death: NGT slaps Rs 1 crore fine on CESU

Bhubaneswar: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on the Central Electricity Supply Utility (CESU) following the death of seven elephants due to electrocution in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district.

The NGT had filed a case suo motu against CESU over the elephant death incident following media reports.

The judgement was pronounced by Principal Bench of NGT led by Chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel.

A committee comprising of one member each from the Ministry of Forest & Environment, and Wildlife Institute of India was also constituted by the NGT to probe into the tragedy.

The panel will visit Kamalanga village in Dhenkanal district and submit a report to the court.

Notably, seven elephants died of electrocution when they came in contact with a sagging live wire on October 26.