A surprising news has come into light after an RTI query from a Mumbai-based activist, when it revealed that the Byculla Zoo, run by the BMC has spent almost 20 crores on enclosures for animals which it doesn’t even have.

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. It also revealed that the zoo staff is maintaining and taking care of the upkeep of the zoo.

The query further revealed that the zoo has spent another 29 crores on the upkeep of the Humboldt Penguins that it procured in 2016. The BMC had initially spent 2.46 crores to buy and bring the Penguins to the zoo.

Jeetendra Ghadge of the Young Whistleblows Foundation who is also the RTI activist who filed the query 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.” “BMC’s decision to invest heavily in enclosures without a clear plan to acquire the animals is clearly an inappropriate use of public funds,” he added.

“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.

However, the BMC has defended itself saying that the procurement process takes time. “The process for getting new animals at the zoo takes time,” an official from the zoo, speaking on 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 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.

The official also said that this is not the right way to look at the expenses and pointed out that this is a one time expenditure and they aren’t spending money on the maintenance of the enclosure so that the exhibits look brand new. He also added that the cost of building the enclosures today is much more than it would have been in 2019 as the cost of stainless steel and concrete has increased significantly since then.

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