Byculla Zoo Expansion Plan Has a Plot Error; BMC Will Act Soon

by Web Desk | Published: 21 Jan 2023

BMC Elections 2022
The BMC will shortly revoke the reserve of a plot close to the Byculla Zoo that was designated in the Development Plan as a plot for the expansion of Rani Baug (DP). A BMC officer claims that a building that sits there and was incorrectly included in the DP is 40–50 years old. The city official claims that site number 590, measuring 1373.75 square metres, is located next to Jijamata Udyan and outside the enclosure wall for penguins. However, this site was designated as a reserved plot for Rani Baugh expansion when the 2034 DP plan's boundary lines were set.
 
When the plot's owner learned about the reservation later, she went to the state government's Urban Development Department (UDD) and requested the rectification. The UDD has now forwarded the situation to the BMC. The official claims that after the State Government approved the DP plan in 2018, the BMC urged the public to voice any objections within the following three months so the BMC Commissioner could correct the errors within the scope of his authority. People must go to the UDD to have their concerns addressed if they were raised more than three months after the original deadline.
 
In this instance, the BMC has received a letter from the UDD; following comments and objections from the public, the civic organization will send back its report, and the State Government will decide whether to make the necessary corrections. The DP plan  will list the aforementioned land as having a "Residential Purpose" if the state grants permission. Around 335 creatures, including birds, reptiles, monkeys, crocodiles, an elephant, deer, a hippopotamus, penguins, and birds, call the Byculla Zoo, which was originally created in 1862 as a botanical garden, home.