COIMBATORE: Forest Minister M Mathiventhan on Friday said the State government would take steps to identify encroachments on elephant corridors by carrying out a census.

Speaking to reporters, on the sidelines of a two-day ‘Tamil Nadu Elephant Conclave 2023’ in Coimbatore, the Minister said an extensive study to define elephant corridors in Tamil Nadu is already in the concluding stage. “Already, some corridors are defined,” he said.

Claiming that Tamil Nadu leads in conservation of elephants, Mathiventhan said, “It has been our bounden duty to establish if the elephant corridors are under encroachment. However, a balanced approach is required on this issue. Therefore, new technology like radio collaring and GPS is being used in elephant conservation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is to be used to prevent train hits in Madukkarai in Coimbatore.”

Further, the Minister said, “there may be some issues on encroachment and it will be addressed comprehensively by the district administration and Forest Department.