Nagpur: Maharashtra is witnessing an alarming surge in man-wildlife conflict, with official data revealing that 501 people lost their lives, nearly 4,000 were injured, more than 30,000 livestock were killed or maimed, and over five lakh crop holdings were damaged in the last six years. The figures, obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query, expose the growing human cost of wildlife expansion and the mounting pressure on forest-fringe communities across the State.
The data, accessed by Nagpur-based RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar from the Forest Department, paints a grim picture of escalating encounters between humans and wild animals, particularly in tiger-dominated regions of Vidarbha.
According to the records, the State reported 501 human deaths linked to man-animal conflict between 2020 and 2026. The deadliest year was 2022-23, when 111 people were killed, while 2025-26 witnessed another disturbing spike with 91 deaths recorded. The number of fatalities has risen sharply over the years, compared to just 39 deaths reported in 2019.
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Forest officials stated that most fatal attacks were reported from Vidarbha, where expanding tiger territories and shrinking buffer zones have intensified encounters with villagers, farmers and cattle grazers living near forest areas.
The RTI data further revealed that 3,934 people suffered injuries during wildlife encounters over the six-year period. The highest number of injuries was reported in 2023-24, when 1,312 people were hurt, more than three times the figure recorded in 2020-21. In 2024-25, another 1,028 people sustained injuries before the numbers slightly declined this year.
The crisis has also devastated rural livelihoods on a massive scale. Crop damage incidents skyrocketed from around 35,100 cases in 2020-21 to an astonishing 2.11 lakh cases in 2023-24, a nearly sixfold increase within just three years. Although the figures later dropped to 1.63 lakh cases in 2024-25 and 61,458 incidents in 2025-26, the losses continue to haunt thousands of farming families dependent on agriculture for survival.
Livestock losses have added another layer of distress. The year 2023-24 recorded the highest cattle toll, with over 7,152 animals killed and nearly 17,740 injured in wildlife attacks. Farmers in forest-fringe villages say repeated attacks by predators have crippled their already fragile economic condition.
To address the crisis, the Maharashtra Government introduced a revised compensation policy through a Gazette notification issued in February 2024. Under the policy, compensation for human death in wildlife conflict cases has been fixed at Rs 25 lakh, while victims suffering permanent disability are entitled to Rs 7.5 lakh and those with serious injuries can receive up to Rs 5 lakh. Compensation for cattle deaths is calculated at 75 per cent of market value, capped at Rs 70,000 for large animals.
However, despite the increasing number of incidents, the compensation mechanism continues to face criticism over delays, procedural hurdles and inadequate outreach in remote tribal areas.
The RTI data shows that compensation disbursed through the Mahakosh system increased steadily from Rs 80.22 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 184.78 crore in 2024-25. In 2025-26, compensation worth Rs 146 crore was disbursed. Overall, the Forest Department paid nearly Rs 763.10 crore over six years for deaths, injuries, crop damage and livestock losses.
Despite the rising compensation figures, activists and affected families argue that the payouts are failing to match the scale of destruction and emotional trauma caused by repeated wildlife attacks.
“These are not just statistics. Every figure represents a family that lost its breadwinner, a farmer who lost his crop, or a villager living under constant fear,” said activist Abhay Kolarkar, stressing the urgent need for a dedicated and long-term man-animal conflict mitigation policy.
The worsening conflict comes at a time when Maharashtra continues to aggressively push wildlife conservation efforts, particularly tiger conservation. Officials acknowledge that the growing tiger population reflects a healthy ecosystem, but also admit that the challenge now lies in balancing conservation with human safety.
In a recent development, Forest Minister Ganesh Naik approved a special fund of Rs 260 crore aimed at reducing man-animal conflict across the State. The fund is expected to be utilised for rapid response teams, fencing, compensation support, awareness drives and conflict mitigation measures in vulnerable districts.
Even as conservation successes are celebrated, the RTI data has exposed the harsh reality unfolding in Maharashtra’s rural belt, where villagers living on the edge of forests continue to pay the highest price for the expanding conflict between humans and wildlife.
