All approvals taken for walk-in aviary, says Chandigarh forest dept

Chandigarh forest department writes to Animal Welfare Board of India, says exotic birds kept in the two walk-through aviaries will only be the ones that are commonly bred in India

After city residents raised an issue with the upcoming Walk-in Aviary near Sukhna Lake, the UT forest department has written to the Animal Welfare Board of India claiming that they have taken all approvals and have not violated any guidelines or laws.

As per the letter written by the Chandigarh forest department, the exotic birds were procured from suppliers registered with the Animal Welfare Board of Tamil Nadu. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The letter written by UT chief conservator of forests Debendra Dalai to the secretary of Animal Welfare Board of India, SK Dutta, noted that the exotic birds kept in the two walk-through aviaries will only be the ones that are commonly bred in India.

As per the letter, the exotic birds were procured from suppliers registered with the Animal Welfare Board of Tamil Nadu and registered on the PARIVESH portal of the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change. Before selecting sellers, a committee of officers from the UT animal husbandry department, UT finance department and the UT forest department cross-verified the details, and the sources of birds were also physically verified.

The Animal Welfare Board of India had earlier written to the UT forest department regarding this and in this letter the forest department replied that none of the laws and guidelines had been violated in setting up the park.

Residents still dissatisfied

Meanwhile, residents still remain unsatisfied with the answer. The complainant, RK Garg, said, “No documents have been provided along with the letter and the complaint hasn’t been declared as closed. The approval from the authorities is also mentioned, but not attached. An audit report had also objected to the contract for the construction of this aviary which is not mentioned.”

Garg added that animal rights activist and politician Maneka Gandhi, who had also raised her voice against the project earlier, had also written to him saying that she was dissatisfied with the response and now they planned to seek legal intervention.