Aurangabad, Feb 4:
The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has geared up to get possession of 41.69 hectares of land (bearing Gut Number 56) for establishing Tiger Safari at Mitmita. The project is funded by Aurangabad Smart City Development
Corporation Limited (ASCDCL). Earlier, the AMC has got possession of 150 acres of land from the Department of Revenue (DoR), but the additional land required for the safari is owned by the Department of Forest (DoF). Hence to
seek approval to get the above land, the AMC will be submitting the proposal to the Central Government, soon.
The deputy commissioner Saurabh Joshi confirmed that the process to send the proposal seeking permission from the Central Government has been started. The AMC will also seek the assistance from the ASCDCL's project management
consultant (PMC) while sending it, he said.
Earlier, the DoR has allotted 40 hectares of land bearing Gut Number 309 (at Mitmita) for Aurangabad Zoological Park. Later on, the AMC decided to develop Leopard Safari and Tiger Safari on 58.69 hectares of land. It needed 17 hectares
for Leopard Safari (Gut Number 307/9) and 41.69 hectares for Tiger Safari (Gut Number 56). Hence the AMC got 20 hectares of land that was reserved for PMAY (Housing Scheme) for the Leopard Safari. As of today, the AMC has 150
acres of land in its possession. Now, the AMC geared up for 41.69 hectares of land for Tiger Safari. Earlier, it was not clear whether the said land is owned by the DoR or DoF. Later on, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF,
Nagpur) referring to Nizam-era documents claimed that the land is owned by DoF, therefore, the approval to get it has to be taken from the Central Government, said Joshi.
The Phase I work of Aurangabad Zoological Park is nearing completion and the second phase will start soon. The ASCDCL has made a provision of Rs 250 crore for the wildlife project.
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Earlier, the state government were authorised to de-reserve the land of DoF and award the possession. However, as per the amendment in Act (in 1980), the state is authorised to award 2 hectares of DoF land and the central government
will grant permission if the land requirement is more than it. Joshi said, " We have started preparing the proposal and compiling the documents (as per the list provided to us by DoF) to be submitted to the Centre. If all goes well, we will be
submitting the proposal by March-end."