MoEF notice to halt work on lion safari project in Etawah

Notice to Uttar Pradesh says project in reserved forestland for commercial purpose is illegal

Published on:

16 Jul 2012, 10:22 am

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has put a spanner in Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's pet project—a lion safari in his father's home district, Etawah. The ministry has slapped the state government with a notice, asking it to halt construction work on the project immediately. The notice says the development work in the reserved Fisher Forest in Chambal area of Etawah is illegal because the Uttar Pradesh government has not taken permission from the ministry for it as required under the Forest Conservation Act of 1980.

The main objection raised by MoEF is that the state government is planning to use the forestland for commercial purposes by planning a lion safari in it. “Taking up non-forest activities, including constructing permanent structures, is a violation of the Forest Conservation Act. Besides, the working plan of the Etawah forest division up to 2015-16 has already been approved,” says the notice.

Mulayam's dream project

Total area: 150 hectare

Estimated cost: Rs 35 crore

Money spent: Rs 4.1 crore.

What officials say now:

Etawah is best suited for lion safari because of the region's geographical similarity to Gujarat's Gir forest
As there is no zoo in western region of the state, lion safari in Etawah would help children learn about wildlife

What officials said during Mayawati regime

Lion Safari is not feasible as there is no similarity between Etawah and Gir forest zone
Bijnore and Saharanpur are part of elephant corridor, and so there is a need for setting up a lion reserve

A thorny problem

sheesham

semu

bargad

peepal

Panthera leo persica)

Flip flop on project feasibility

Asiatic lion