Maharashtra has three zoos owned by the forest department and 11 are under management of other agencies.
To monitor and streamline the functioning of zoos in Maharashtra, the state government will form the state zoo authority (SZA).
The proposed authority will monitor zoos, safaris, botanical gardens and nature interpretation centres in the state. A proposal in this regard has been approved by the Maharashtra Wildlife Protection Board. Only a handful of states, namely West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, have this system.
Maharashtra has three zoos owned by the forest department and 11 are under management of other agencies.
“The state zoo authority will help protect wildlife and take this knowledge to people,” finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who is also the state's forest minister, told dna. He added that the state government also planned to develop the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Nagpur's Gorewada Zoo (on the lines of international forest tourism destinations, like Kenya's Masai Mara).
The Gorewada zoo, which will come up on a 1,914-hectare plot in Nagpur, will also have an African safari, international-standard night safari and other facilities. “However, at the same time, these animals must also be taken care of properly and the law must be protected,” Mungantiwar pointed out. He said that the SZA would function under the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).
As per the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 2009, the CZA is the regulator for the upkeep, maintenance and regulation of zoos.
Though the chief wildlife warden of the state is expected to assist the CZA in these matters, the officers are busy with other duties like wildlife management, protection and tackling the man-animal conflict. Hence, it is not possible for them to devote adequate time for ensuring the welfare of animals in zoos. The SZA, which will take over these responsibilities regarding zoos, will be registered as a society under the Society Registration Act, 1860, and be headed by an assistant chief conservator of forests rank officer.
A senior forest department officer said the SZA, the formation of which would be notified by the state government soon, would reduce the time taken for approvals for renovation and other works in zoos. “Basically, it is meant for... technical assistance to zoos,” he added.
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