Mumbai's first world-class zoo worth 500 crore to arrive in Goregaon

Representational image

A modern world-class zoo showcasing a slew of rare wild animals, jungle and trail safaris, a separate breeding centre and other facilities and nature education centre is coming up near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Film city in north Mumbai. This proposed zoo will be the second zoo in the metropolis after the BMC-run Veermata Jijabai Bhosale (VJB) Udyan and Zoo at Byculla, undergoing a modernisation programme at a cost of Rs 500 crore.

According to The Pioneer, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Maharashtra Government's Forest Department and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The BMC officials and the State forest department exchanged the documents in presence of State Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.

Spread over 100 acres of land, the proposed zoo will have night/moonlight safari, different types of big and small reptiles, a leopard safari, nocturnal animals and daytime hunting animals, apes and other attractions. The land required for this project will be carved from the 190 acres of government land at Aarey Milk Colony in Goregaon. The BMC will fund the entire project and the revenue to be generated from the project will be shared be between the state forest department and BMC.

According to the MoU, the State Forest department will provide technical expertise for managing the proposed Zoo and help in the procurement of animals. The BMC will acquire necessary permissions for procurement of animals, as per the guidelines of the Central Zoo Authority. The new zoo will be set up in the vicinity of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SNGP), as the existing the VJB Udyan and Zoo at Byculla zoo does not have adequate space to house big wild animals.

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