Renew BNHS land lease, chief secy told

Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis directed chief secretary D.K. Jain to renew the lease of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) land situated in Aarey colony, which had expired. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mumbai president MLA Ashish Shelar met Mr Fadnavis on Monday, requesting the lease to the BNHS be renewed. Mr Fadnavis then directed Mr Jain to take steps in this regard.

The government gave Aarey colony land to the BNHS in 1983. The organisation was founded on 15 September 1883 when eight men interested in natural history met in the then Victoria and Albert Museum (now Bhau Daji Lad Museum) and constituted themselves as the Bombay Natural History Society. It is has since grown into one of the largest Indian non-governmental organisations engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. Ornithologist Dr Salim Ali, who was among the first Indians to conduct systematic bird surveys across India and wrote several bird books, contributed to the society for several years.