Experts visit Byculla Zoo to take stock of makeover plan
Nine months after the Central Zoo Authority gave its final approval to the Rs 433-crore Byculla zoo makeover, two CZA experts visited the zoo last week to take stock of the redevelopment plan, zoo officials said on Thursday. The project, which was passed by the CZA in November 2009, has been held up for a final approval from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee. The MHCC has called for minor changes in the plan in order to preserve the tree cover and the floral biodiversity of the premises.
The experts Dr Erach Barucha, CZA scientist, and V B Sawarkar, the former director of the Wildlife Institute of India visited the zoo to appraise the current status of the premises as well as consider the reason for the delay in implementation of the plan. Barucha said, The civic body is working on an extensive bio-diversity mapping of the zoo along with expert botanists from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). The mapping will identify, name, list and locate the floral bio-diversity of the zoo with GPS mapping. Following the release of this report, we will submit our observation to the CZA.