Mumbai zoo spent Rs 20-cr on cages for lions, wolves, otters. But it has no such animals

A Mumbai zoo has spent Rs 20 crore on enclosures for lions, wolves and otters. Unfortunately, the zoo, run by the BMC, currently has none of these animals. The disclosure came as part of a Right To Information query from a Mumbai-based activist. Let’s take a closer look at what we know: What happened? According to The Times of India, the Byculla Zoo has spent Rs 8.25 crore on a lion enclosure, another Rs 7.15 crore on a wolf enclosure and a further Rs 3.82 crore on an otter enclosure. However, these enclosures remain empty as the zoo does not have any of these animals. According to _Hindustan Time_s, the zoo administration is currently taking care of the upkeep of the enclosures. The query further revealed that the zoo has spent another Rs 29 crore on the upkeep of the Humbolt penguins it procured in 2016. The BMC initially spent Rs 2.47 crore to buy and bring the penguins to the zoo, as per News18. [caption id=“attachment_13095422” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The query further revealed that the zoo has spent another Rs 29 crore on the upkeep of the Humbolt penguins it procured in 2016.[/caption] Jeetendra Ghadge, the activist who filed the RTI, told The Times of India, “It would have been a judicious move to construct these enclosures once it were confirmed that the animals would be procured. Ghadge, of The Young Whistleblows Foundation, added, “BMC’s decision to invest heavily in enclosures without a clear plan to acquire the animals is clearly an inappropriate use of public funds.”

Ghadge told News18 the expense “defies logic and fiscal prudence”.

“In a city where an average Mumbaikar struggles to afford a home worth Rs 50 lakh, it’s baffling to comprehend how animals reside in multi-crore enclosures. This discrepancy is hard to digest,” Ghadge added. “The trend of cost escalation and overpriced acquisitions seems to be a recurring theme in BMC affairs. It’s a loophole that seems to allow opportunistic individuals to benefit without facing allegations of corruption. It’s high time the BMC established stringent rules and regulations to curb these practices and stop corruption,” the activist further said. BMC defends expense However, the BMC has defended itself saying that procurement is a lengthy process. “The process for getting new animals at the zoo takes time,” an official from the zoo, speaking of condition of anonymity, told Hindustan Times. “We get the animals in exchange for others. We have to build the facilities for the animals first and then strike a deal with other zoos. The problem is that we currently do not have many excess animals to exchange. Hence, we are facing difficulty in acquiring new animals.” The official added that while they had nearly confirmed a lion exchange programme with Junagadh’s Sakkarbaug Zoo, the approval was negated at the last moment.

“…the exchange has been stuck ever since. Even now, there is no estimated time of arrival for the lions,” the official added.

“The lion procurement proposal got caught up due new guidelines by the Animal Husbandry Ministry so we could not bring zebra to be given in exchange. We are trying hard to bring new animals,” an official told The Times of India. This isn’t the right way to look at such an expenditure, the official added. The official pointed to the fact that this is a one-time cost and that they aren’t spending on maintenance and that the exhibits look brand new. Another official told News18 the price of building enclosures today would be far higher than 2019. “…we would have to spend almost double the cost because the price of stainless steel, concrete and other materials is too high now,” the official added. With inputs from agencies