International zoo to come up in Gorewada

In its bid to protect forests, the Government has taken a conscious decision to establish an international standard zoo and biopark on forest land at Gorewada in Nagpur.

The zoo will have attractions like biopark, Indian safari, African safari, night safari, research, education and training, facilities for tourists, said Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, in a press statement.

The Government of Maharashtra has accorded permission for establishing the international zoo, through the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited (FDCM Ltd), Nagpur. The Goverment has agreed to provide Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of Rs 200 crore.

The tasks of protection of forests and wildlife at the Gorewada forests and wildlife habitat development, construction of Indian Safari and ancillary activities, water reservoir and Gorewada Reserve have been assigned to FDCM Ltd, for which State Forest Department is providing grants and manpower at the disposal of FDCM Ltd.

Amongst other decisions, the formation of Special Purpose Vehicle of FDCM Ltd and a Joint Venture Company of private investors under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode of financing with government stake at 51% was approved.