The SNGP, which is spread over a 103 square kilometre area in Mumbai suburban district and part of Thane district, currently operates Lion and Tiger Safari for wildlife lovers
Mumbai: Maharashtra government on Thursday announced the launch of ‘leopard safari’ at Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). Maharashtra cabinet minister Ashish Shelar inspected the SGNP. Mr. Shelar also adopted two lions — Bharat and Bharati — for a year. He has taken personal responsibility for their upkeep.
The SNGP, which is spread over a 103 square kilometre area in Mumbai suburban district and part of Thane district, currently operates Lion and Tiger Safari for the wildlife lovers. Mr. Shelar, who is also guardian minister of Mumbai suburbs, on Friday chaired a meeting with forest department officials. In the meeting, a plan pertaining to the Leopard Safari in the SGNP was discussed. Shriji Mallikarjuna, Chief conservator of Forest, deputy director Revati Kulkarni, and other officials of forest department were present in the meeting.
Leopard cubs found in various parts of Maharashtra were brought at SNGP for rehabilitation and kept in secured zones. But there is no entry for tourists in these zones. Now, the forest department has now proposed to start Leopard Safari on around 30 hectares of land. “The Leopard Safari can be started to offer visitors a unique wildlife experience while ensuring a safe and enriched environment for the rescued leopards and their cubs that have been rehabilitated in this park,” an official statement said. .
Mr. Mallikarjuna said, “Leopard Safari would require 30 hectares of land and it is available in SGNP. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs five crore. As of now every year around 20 lakh tourists visit SGNP. If Leopard Safari is introduced, the number of tourists will increase and will boost revenues of the park.”
During the presentation in the meeting, the cabinet minister instructed the officials to immediately initiate the process to start Leopard Safari. He said that the funds needed will be jointly sourced from the forest department and the district planning committee. He also instructed the district collector to expedite the proposal to implement the initiative at the earliest.
Mr. Shelar, who is IT and cultural minister of Maharashtra, said that the Leopard Safari would start in one and half years time. “At present, there are around 17 leopards in SGNP and the number will go up in the coming time. After formal approval and release of funds, the work for Leopard Safari will commence,” he said.
On Republic Day, two three-year-old cubs – ‘Bharat and Bharati’ were brought to SGNP from Gujarat. Mr. Shelar has adopted them for a year, personally covering all the expenses for their care and well-being.
