Greens confused over Byculla zoo plan

While the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) waits an approval from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) for the proposed redevelopment of the Veer Jijamata Udyan in Byculla, three different plans with schematic drawings were furnished by the BMC, under Right to Information (RTI) Act under the Save Rani Bagh Botanical Garden Action Committee (SRBBGAC).

SRBBGAC, along with the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI), Citispace, Oval Trust, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Awaz Foundation and other NGOs, is protesting the redevelopment as it fears that the 148-year-old Botanical garden within the zoo premises is endangered.

“How can the BMC float tenders for Phase-I of the zoo redevelopment plans when it doesn’t have a final master plan in place? They have given us three different schematic layout plans,” said Nayana Kathpalia, convenor, Citispace.

“Each of the plans procured under the RTI shows that the botanical garden space is severely restricted. Most of the internal gardens will be removed and those retained will be modified. There will be construction of new animal enclosures; creation of new water bodies, new pathways — all of which require massive construction work that will affect the root systems of the trees,” said Hutoxi Rustomfram, member of SRBBGAC.

The greens say that the zoo is a Grade II-B heritage site and the gardens need to be protected. The NGOs pledged to start a ‘chipko movement’ if the Heritage Committee gives a green light to the redevelopment plans. “The redevelopment will reduce the number of internal gardens from over 50 to  14. The garden area, which is currently 63 per cent, will be reduced to 22 per cent,” said Rustomfram.

Dinesh Afzalpurkar, chairman of the Heritage Committee said, “We have made a note of the issues pointed out by SRBBGAC. We will take a final decision only if we are satisfied.”