State has also declared Godazhari, in Chandrapur district, a wildlife sanctuary
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Freshwater crab. File pic
At an important meeting held by Maharashtra State Wildlife Board at the Sahyadri guesthouse, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's son, Tejas Thackeray, has been given permission to collect live specimen of freshwater crabs for research purposes. The board, headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, also announced the 159.58 sq km Godazhari -- a part of Brahmapuri forest division in Chandrapur district -- as a wildlife sanctuary.
There are 10 to 15 tigers, 23 leopards, spotted deer, nilgai, wild boar and other wildlife species that are found in the newly declared sanctuary.
Forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar along with the chief minister, forest secretary Vikas Kharge, principal secretary Praveen Pardeshi and other members from the board were present at the meeting.
A member of the state wildlife board told mid-day, "Another important decision made at the meeting was allowing Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to carry out geotechnical investigation for the proposed Borivli-Thane tunnel passing below Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). Many of the members have already made it clear that if the project has negative impact on the biodiversity of SGNP, they will oppose it. Tejas has been doing really good work related to wildlife conservation, so the board has given him permission to collect live samples of freshwater crabs for research."
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