Central Zoo Authority gives approval for TN's fifth Zoo

Chennai, Feb 23 The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has given its approval for building a zoo at Tiruchi, which will be the fifth such facility in Tamil Nadu.

The zoo, according to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, will come up in an area of 30 hectares.

Department sources told that the Central Zoo Authority has sent a formal communication about approval to the Tamil Nadu Chief Wildlife Warden.

As part of the zoo area comes under the reserve forest area, the Forest Department is in the process to obtain clearance under the Forest Conservation Act.

Forest Department sources said that the CZA approval is subject to conditions including state government allocations and sufficient funds for the construction and operation of the zoo. It may be noted that the zoo project was pushed ahead earlier also, but due to paucity of funds, it was shelved.

The CZA has, in its formal approval, directed the state Forest Department that no animals or resources from existing zoos should be used for the new zoo. It also mandated that no animals from the wild be acquired for display.

Chief Wildlife warden Shekar Kumar Neeraj told that establishing the Tiruchi zoo has a lot of challenges, including the availability of freshwater, as the proposed site is in a water-stressed area. He said that the Forest Department is planning to dig a canal to draw water from Cauvery. He also said that mixed forest will come up to improve green cover, as the proposed area has only one tree species - Hardwicka binata.

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