Delhi may get first animal safari park in two years

The national capital is expected to get its first animal safari park in the next two years, Union minister of state for housing and urban development Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday.

Also in the pipeline is a park in Dwarka, which would have a city forest and representations from various states across India, including iconic monuments of different states and cuisines.

“We have decided to build a city forest or an eco-park in Badarpur. It would have a unique herbivore and carnivore animal safari and the project would be completed within 24 months,” Puri said, while announcing a slew of other projects.

The city forest would be developed at the site where the Badarpur thermal power plant is located.

The power plant had to be shut down permanently since October 15, 2018, to bring down pollution levels in Delhi. The forest will sprawl over 884 acres.

Hindustan Times, on December 14 last year, had reported about the central government’s plan to convert the once-polluting power station into an eco-park.

“Delhi doesn’t have a safari where people can go and enjoy nature and see animals. It is not a zoo. It would be a natural forest,” said Tarun Kapoor, vice-chairman of the Delhi Development Authority.

The Bharat Vandana Park, which would be developed on 200 acres of land, is coming up near the airport.

“It would be based on the concept of a mini-India where we would have representations of all the states. It will have a forest and act as a huge new green lung for the city,” said Puri.

The park will have many components such as replicas of major monuments from across India, a large water body, an aquarium and stalls where cuisine from across India would be sold. It would be developed in the next 24 months.

“A family would be able to spend a full day at the park,” said Kapoor. Puri said the idea to develop these two parks cropped up during a conversation with a lieutenant governor of Delhi.

“I had asked a simple question (during the conversation). What are we doing for Delhi. There has to be some place where our children and their children can go. That is when these options came,” Puri said.

First Published: Mar 08, 2019 03:23 IST