"The proposal to convert this historical botanical garden into an international standard zoo is ill-advised as it will gravely endanger the 150-year-old garden," he wrote, adding, "The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) cautions that the proposal to establish a large zoo in Veermata Jijabai Udyan will be detrimental to animal health and well-being. Many environmental groups in Mumbai assert that it will destroy a heritage botanical garden. Therefore, the entire redevelopment exercise appears to be devoid of any merit whatsoever."
On August 23, 2008, the CZA, while commenting on the earlier Rs 433-crore plan, had said, "It is proposed to relocate the zoo to a fairly large area, preferably more than 50 hectares, outside the city in the interest of conservation, animal health and well-being." Ramesh told Chavan that he was in "full agreement" with this point made by the CZA, a body constituted under the Union ministry of environment and forests.
Ramesh suggested to the CM that if there is a revised plan, it should improve living conditions for the animals by modifying their enclosures, and such modifications should not encroach on the botanical garden and its heritage layout. The major bone of contention in revamping the zoo has been that the BMC will either destroy many of the 3,220 trees or include them within animal enclosures, thus making less greenery available to the public. The BMC has been insisting that no tree will be hurt, but a sceptical Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) has withheld its final approval for the plans. Read the full report here.
Source: Viju B, TNN, Mumbai.
