Citizens up the ante on Zoo makeover

Even before civic authorities make the first move, citizens are up in arms
against the proposed facelift of the Jijamata Udyan, popularly known as
Byculla zoo. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation plans a Rs400 crore
makeover of this city landmark, which has already alarmed some activists.
In a rare display of vigilantism, 266 signatures have been collected
petitioning the municipal commissioner on www.saveranibagh.org. While more
action is on the anvil.

Currently, HKS Designer and Consultant International (a Thai-based Malaysian
company) and the Portico Group (US) are preparing a master plan to give the
zoo a modern face that will probably include an aquarium, car park, 3-D
theatre, children’s exploration centre.

Some citizens fear this development will cause further felling of trees on
the land that is known for its green cover. The petition on the website
states, “As there is no vacant treeless space in this public botanical park,
this petition opposes construction of numerous structures necessitated by
the proposed modernisation, which will most likely lead to the felling of
age-old trees.”

It is not clear who initiated the petition but many other activists are
planning to protest the move. On a discussion on Karmayog’s website, veteran
activist Kisan Mehta says, he is considering filing PIL if he gets support
for the purpose.

Additional municipal commissioner RA Rajeev says these fears are misplaced.
“I can assure them no tree will be cut. That’s the brief to the consultants.
There is a lot of vacant space in the zoo and we know that better than them,”
he said.

The 53-acre zoo was established as a botanical garden in 1861 and is home to
over 3,000 trees of over 200 species, many of them exotic and rare. “This
dense foliage is home to dozens of species of birds, butterflies, squirrels
and thousands of fruit bats and flying foxes,” observes the citizens’
petition.

It fears that the proposed redevelopment could spur ‘indiscriminate
concretisation’ and aggravate flooding in the city. “Its 53-acre soil cover
provides a huge soak basin for heavy rainfall,” the petition observes.
Mehta says, that the matter calls for a gigantic citizen stir in the form of
a PIL. Rani Bagh is unique in the life of Mumbaikars. The future generations
will curse us if we do not act fast,” he says.

Nature expert Sunjoy Monga says it might be a bit premature to react at this
point. “We need to wait to see what the plan entails and whether the
makeover will involve damage to the habitat. It may not necessarily be
insensitive to citizens’ concerns; the system is mature now,” he said.

Publication : DNA; Section : Mumbai; Pg : 8; Date : 4/8/07
URL :
http://digital.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?edorsup=Sup&queryed=7&querypage=8&boxid=31030270&parentid=45479&eddate=08/04/2007