Gorewada's on, says forest secy

NAGPUR: At a time when finance department has raised objections over the viability of international-level zoo at Gorewada, principal secretary for forests Praveen Pardeshi said the project will be approved.
Pardeshi, who will be in city on Thursday, will meet all departmental heads and review progress. Among the issues he will discuss are rehabilitation, eco-tourism, creation of new protected areas (PAs), vacant posts and upgradation of state service cadre.
Pardeshi told TOI ahead of his visit that it was true that finance department had raised certain points on Gorewada, but that was not a big obstacle."We will clarify their doubts," he said.
"Forest minister Patangrao Kadam is very positive on the project. He also had talks with Nagpur district guardian minister Shivajirao Moghe and both are determined to have the project approved," Pardeshi stressed.
On finance department objection that the project was not economically viable, Pardeshi did not go into the details but stressed that a strategy was being worked out. Before his new posting, Pardeshi was Amravati divisional commissioner and had played a key role in expediting relocation of villages in Melghat tiger reserve. As divisional commissioner, he also organised a video conference on man-leopard conflict, perhaps first in state. He has major plans to streamline things.
"As Gorewada project requires huge funding, some steps are being planned to initially kick-start the project," he stated.
On Tuesday, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had called a meeting in Mumbai with senior forest officials to discuss Gorewada. However, as Chavan was too busy with other meetings, the presentation on the zoo was cancelled. Pardeshi said the meeting was not a planned one.
Revising the master plan apart, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) wants commitment from the government that it will fund the Gorewada zoo in a sustained manner. However, the state is yet to give such a commitment.
Meanwhile, in a fresh development, Singapore-based Bernard Harrison & Friends that had prepared the zoo master plan is reportedly reluctant to revise it. Bernard was not available for comments but sources close to the firm told TOI that Bernard was disappointed with the delay and negative approach of past zoo directors.
Earlier incumbent BSK Reddy had allegedly not given Bernard an appointment two months ago. He is also unhappy for being asked frequently to revise the plan without being paid pending fee of Rs 56 lakh.