Hoshiarpur: To prevent human-animal conflict, the state Forest and Wildlife Department will soon fence wildlife sanctuavries across the state. It will spend Rs 58 crore on various projects to be taken under this scheme of the Union Environment and Forest Ministry. Talking to TNS, state forest minister Tikhsan Sud said the amount would be spent on various measures to be taken up for the conservation of forests and wildlife. Sud said the first instalment of Rs 58 crore (for two financial years) had been received and work on fencing 13 sanctuaries and updating infrastructure would soon be started. From now onwards, the department would get Rs 30 crore for the purpose annually and the same would be spent on various works like fencing, construction of waterholes, planting fruit-bearing indigenous trees in forests, setting up of makeshift shelter for animals and some other requirements, he added. Sources, however, said directions by a Patiala-based court forced the department to come up with the scheme. Taking up a litigation, the court had directed the department to fence wildlife sanctuaries in Patiala, as wild animals has been wrecking havoc on crops. Moreover, the Nabha MLA had also been taken up the issue for the past many years. But wildlife lovers maintained that scores of animals would lose their lives in the absence of medicare. Facing paucity of funds, the department was functioning with a skeleton staff and to conserve wild animals and forest cover was not possible in such a situation, said Nikhil Sangar of Wildlife Conservation Society (Nawanshahr).