SunCorp

The Zoo Is Ready For A Grand Make-Over. But The Plan Has Raised Concerns Over What’s Going To Happen To The Trees ?

You could call this the last inventory of Jijamata Udyan in its present form as the Byculla zoo will, in all probability, never be the same again. The zoo, popularly known as Rani Baug, is now awaiting the Central Zoo Authority (CZA)’s goahead for a complete make-over, a modernisation project that will cost Rs 433 crore.
    The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which owns the zoo, is upbeat at the make-over prospects. It has been at the receiving end of activists’ ire for the “poor condition of captive animals’’ and the make-over, officials hope, will finally transform the zoo into a “world-class’’ one.
    But the master plans conceived by a consortium of Thai-based designers and US-based consultants — which propose to have 3-D theatre, staff quarters, a parking lot, allocated areas for
animals from different continents and a night safari — have tree-lovers in the city worried.
    Rani Baug was built in 1861 as a botanical park by the Agro-Horticultural Society of Western India.
    Slowly, over the years, animals were included and it became the Mumbai region’s only zoo.
    But critics would say the zoo is still in that state; with its somewhat sad animals and rare plants, it would enthuse a student of botany more than it would a student of zoology.
    However, despite the criticism the zoo has drawn for its treatment of animals, Rani Baug — with its green landscape within the urban sprawl — is a good getaway from the city within the city.
    There are 3,371 trees of 280 different species on the 53-acre campus and some of them are rare; Amherstia nobilis or the tree of heaven, for instance, is one of the only couple of specimens the city has.
    In fact, a grand rain tree welcomes 8,000 visitors every day.
    And, at a cost of only Rs 5, the place provides book-lovers a quiet environment and children — who grow up in small flats — a chance to get close to nature.
    The zoo, say officials, is also a tourist spot for those from other parts of Maharashtra and also for those from outside the state.
    “Indians have a tendency to look for a chidiyaghar whenever they are in a particular city. Rani Baug is our chidiyaghar,’’ said naturalist J C Punetha, state director of WWF.
    But Jijamata Udyan does not only lure only human beings; birds and butterflies, too, are drawn to it. Common jay and common palmfly are only two of the butterflies that flutter around. Birds like the purple sunbird, the night heron, the magpie robin, the brownheaded barbet and the golden oriole are some that come here.
    Around 1,000 bats share the place because of the thick dark cover it provides.
    All this may not be disturbed by the make-over plans but naturalists are not so sure about the fate of many of the zoo’s trees. Though additional municipal commissioner R A Rajeev insists the make-over will not involve cutting down trees, the Save Rani Baug Botanical Garden Action Committee is not convinced.
    Katie Bagli of the committee points out that 63 per cent of the zoo area is green cover whereas animal enclosures occupy only 18 per cent. The remaining 19 per cent comprises monuments and pathways. “If the green cover stays as it is, it means the BMC will work on the other 18 per cent (35,000 square metres). But the BMC will be spending Rs 433 crore and it works out to an expense of Rs 1.23 lakh per square metre. Is that possible?’’ she asks, alleging the BMC was planning to have a “synthetic amusement park’’.
    Rajeev, however, says that the BMC is in the process of getting seven acres from an adjoining plot. “We will be developing the green area as well but without chopping trees. We have hired international consultants who are among the best in the world because there are many challenges involved. The themes will be developed around the trees.’’
    He pointed out that the 3-D theatre was next to the entrance of the zoo near Bhau Daji Lad Museum. The underground parking will be under the existing parking lot but will have a garden above.
    The staff quarters will be in the nursery area at the periphery of the zoo. Nandkumar Naik of Friends of Trees says that he would want the place to be as it is. “Improve the condition of animals by all means but not at the cost of trees,’’ Naik says.
    THE INVENTORY
AREA: 53 acres (.21 square kms) ANIMALS: 200 (26 species) BIRDS: 450 (45 species) REPTILES: 8 TREES: 3771 (280 species) VISITORS: 25 lakh a year
    THE HISTORY
The zoo at Byculla actually started as a botanical garden called Victoria Gardens in 1861; it used to be called Rani Baug in Hindi (after Queen Victoria). It was later named Jijamata Udyan after Shivaji’s mother. THE MAKE-OVER PLANS
    COST OF MAKE-OVER: Rs 443 crore
    TIME NEEDED: 4 years
    ADDITIONAL AREA: 7 acres
    NEW ANIMALS
There are plans to get 25 more species of animals, including orangutans and baboons.
    OLD PLANTS
The BMC denies any plan to cut down on the number of trees but activists say it will not be possible for the BMC to retain every tree (given its plans); what has invited ire is the plan to have an artificial baobab tree.
    A THEATRE
There are plans to have a 3-dimension theatre where there will be shows related to flora and fauna.
    PARKING AREA
An underground car-parking area will be able to accommodate 100 vehicles; there will be a garden above that.
    NIGHT SAFARI
The make-over plans include a night safari.