ANEC serves legal notice over elephant deaths on Walayar rail corridor

The Animal and Nature Ethics Community (ANEC) Trust, a Kochi-based organisation working on animal welfare and wildlife conservation, has served a legal notice to the State government over recurring elephant deaths on the Walayar-Kanjikode railway corridor.

It demanded immediate measures to prevent further deaths and the full operation of an AI-based elephant detection and early-warning system on the stretch. ANEC said the State had a constitutional and statutory duty to protect wildlife and called for better coordination between the Forest department and Railways.

The notice follows the death of an elephant and her calf after they were hit by the Mengaluru-Chennai Superfast Express on August 12, on the World Elephant Day, near Walayar. ANEC said 35 elephants had been killed after getting hit by trains on the stretch over the past two decades. It also cited the death of a four-year-old elephant there in February.

The organisation said the repeated fatalities made the corridor a known wildlife mortality hotspot requiring permanent safeguards. ANEC pointed to an AI-based elephant detection and railway warning system deployed in Tamil Nadu. It said the system had reportedly enabled 9,481 safe elephant crossings and 3,821 train slowdowns, with no reported elephant deaths on the stretch since its implementation.

It said the system on the Keralam side remained in testing despite government announcements on AI monitoring, solar fencing and rapid response teams. The trust also raised concerns over mining and development projects near elephant habitats. It sought action against mining at Malabar Cements’ Pandarathu limestone mines in the Walayar forest and granite quarries near the Dhoni forest area. It opposed further forest diversion for IIT Palakkad and a proposed greenfield highway, saying such projects could fragment elephant habitats and increase human-wildlife conflict.

The notice cited a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit that flagged forest diversion, habitat loss and failures in managing wildlife corridors. ANEC also questioned the utilisation of funds for wildlife protection. Citing government data reported elsewhere, it said Keralam received about ₹221.38 crore from the Centre between 2020 and 2025 under schemes including Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats and Project Tiger/Project Elephant. About ₹73.55 crore was reportedly utilised.

The trust sought details of funds sanctioned, released and spent, along with utilisation certificates and audited statements, and asked the government to explain any delay or non-utilisation. It also demanded a joint inspection of the railway corridor by the Forest department, Southern Railway, wildlife officials and technical experts. Interim measures should include night patrols, elephant surveillance, real-time communication with railway authorities and speed controls until a permanent warning system is operational, it said.

ANEC said responsibility should be fixed if negligence or avoidable delay is established. It warned that it would approach the Kerala High Court and National Green Tribunal if the government failed to act.