Times of India: Mumbai: Thursday, 07 September 2023.
BMC has spent Rs 8.25 crore on construction of a lion enclosure, Rs 7.15 crore on a wolf enclosure at Byculla zoo, and Rs 3.82 crore on an otter enclosure, shows a reply received through a Right To information (RTI) query. None of these animals has been procured yet. Activists have raised questions, calling it 'lavish' spending as the enclosures are empty.
A BMC official said it wasn't the "right way" to look at such expenditure as they plan to procure the animals.
The reply to the RTI query also says that Rs 29 crore has been spent on maintenance of Humboldt penguins procured in October 2016.
"It would have been a judicious move to construct these enclosures once it were confirmed that the animals would be procured," said Jeetendra Ghadge, an activist of The Young Whistleblows Foundation. "BMC's decision to invest heavily in enclosures without a clear plan to acquire the animals is clearly an inappropriate use of public funds."
A BMC official said the expenditure in 2019 compared to current prices of stainless steel, concrete and other material was almost half. "Also it's a one-time cost and after that there is no maintenance cost as there is no rusting, no painting and still these exhibits look brand new. The lion procurement proposal got caught up due new guidelines by the Animal Husbandry Ministry so we could not bring zebra to be given in exchange. We are trying hard to bring new animals," said the official.
BMC has spent Rs 8.25 crore on construction of a lion enclosure, Rs 7.15 crore on a wolf enclosure at Byculla zoo, and Rs 3.82 crore on an otter enclosure, shows a reply received through a Right To information (RTI) query. None of these animals has been procured yet. Activists have raised questions, calling it 'lavish' spending as the enclosures are empty.
A BMC official said it wasn't the "right way" to look at such expenditure as they plan to procure the animals.
The reply to the RTI query also says that Rs 29 crore has been spent on maintenance of Humboldt penguins procured in October 2016.
"It would have been a judicious move to construct these enclosures once it were confirmed that the animals would be procured," said Jeetendra Ghadge, an activist of The Young Whistleblows Foundation. "BMC's decision to invest heavily in enclosures without a clear plan to acquire the animals is clearly an inappropriate use of public funds."
A BMC official said the expenditure in 2019 compared to current prices of stainless steel, concrete and other material was almost half. "Also it's a one-time cost and after that there is no maintenance cost as there is no rusting, no painting and still these exhibits look brand new. The lion procurement proposal got caught up due new guidelines by the Animal Husbandry Ministry so we could not bring zebra to be given in exchange. We are trying hard to bring new animals," said the official.
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