Maharashtra forests minister Babanrao Pachpute’s plan to establish an open zoo on Aarey Milk Colony land in Goregaon has received a jolt from the state govt.
MUMBAI: Maharashtra forests minister Babanrao Pachpute’s plan to establish an open zoo on Aarey Milk Colony land in Goregaon has received a jolt from the state government’s empowered committee (EC), a watchdog for all Mumbai projects. The committee comprises top bureaucrats and corporate head honchos.
Instead, the EC has cleared a plan to convert the milk colony’s land into a botanical garden and has roped in Singapore Garden City Private Ltd (SGCPL) to collaborate on the proposed master plan for creating vast open spaces in the city’s western suburbs.
“We have written to SGCPL seeking their guidance on crucial issues regarding the Aarey Colony land. As of now, there is little information on the exact ownership of 3,200 acres in Aarey.
Encroachment is also a serious concern. We feel a botanical garden would ensure that the area is preserved,” said Sanjay Ubale, secretary, special projects.
Pachpute’s plans lost steam when forests department officials failed to turn up for a meeting with the EC to discuss the new zoo proposal. The absence of forest department officials is being linked to the project’s most crucial loophole.
Land ownership at Aarey Colony is with the animal husbandry department and not forests.
A defiant Pachpute told DNA that the EC’s red signal did not bother him at all. “The open zoo project in Aarey Colony is a state government initiative and will be a great tourist attraction,” he said.
Pachpute admitted that the Aarey land does not belong to the forests ministry. “But we are in talks with them to hand it over to us.
If they don’t, we could use the 500 acres of land in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, which is reserved for eco-tourism, for the new zoo,” he said.
The idea of a botanical garden has been mooted by Narinder Nayar, vice-chairman, Citizen’s Action Group, who initiated a dialogue with SGCPL.
“The master plan for the redevelopment of Byculla Zoo undertaken by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is ready and we feel there is no need for a second zoo in Mumbai at this stage.
Any attempts to build one would create further confusion. In fact, we will bring up the issue in our meeting with chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh next week,” added Nayar.
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