Mumbai's SG National Park to undergo transformation

The Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai is gearing up for a transformation as the Maharashtra government aims to make it an attractive tourist destination.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray has set the ball rolling for the project, which involves creating eco-tourism facilities and a zoo. “We have to make SGNP at par with international standards,” Thackeray, who holds the forest portfolio, told a high-level meeting on Monday.

Located in the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR), it is part of the Western Ghats biodiversity and home to 254 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, 78 species of reptiles and amphibians, 150 species of butterflies and a staggering 1,000 species of plants.

The area has around 47 leopards - which actually is the highest leopard density in the world.

Existing facilities inside SGNP, including the children park, lodges, boating facilities and the mini-train VanRani, will be upgraded.

More activities are being planned like construction of entrance plazas, an amphitheatre, museums, viewing decks and others, but they need clearance from the Forest Conservation Act (FCA), Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ), the Bombay High Court, National Board for Wildlife and the Central Zoo Authority.

This may be done as a government-funded project, a CSR project, or through the PPP model.

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