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Chandigarh: Maneka Gandhi opposes walk-in aviary near Sukhna
In her letter to UT administrator, Gandhi said the tender to purchase 1,500 exotic birds was illegal as the birds were not bred in India and would have to be smuggled
Animal rights activist and politician Maneka Gandhi has written to UT administrator VP Singh Badnore regarding the walk-in bird aviary that is being constructed near the Sukhna Forest, calling it illegal.
Gandhi wrote the letter after a city-based activist, RK Garg, highlighted the issue in a letter to her and to the authorities on Monday.
As per Gandhi, that the UT administration brought out a tender on July 22 for purchasing 1,500 exotic birds was illegal as the birds were not bred in India and would be smuggled. She added that a collection of animals and birds on display was classified as a zoo, and no zoo could be started without the permission of the Central Zoo Authority.
Gandhi also said that the aviary would be like a cage and several high courts including the Punjab and Haryana high court had forbidden the caging of birds.
Gandhi added that the city already had an Open Bird Sanctuary in Sector 21 and many people had objected to the project. She further added that the report on this would go to the Prime Minister’s office and the Union ministry of forest, environment and climate change.
Garg, in his letter to Gandhi, had highlighted how residents were against the aviary, which would be like a cage for birds: “The quotation for the supply of exotic birds by the administration asks for things like DNA certificate and age certificate of the birds which practically can’t be followed thus I have highlighted the issue.”
Meanwhile, the officials of the UT forest department said that the enclosure would be about 58 feet high and spread over 3-4 acres, so it would have ample space for birds. They further added that forest guards posted there would ensure that birds were treated well.
The officials pointed out that the government was already constructing aviaries like these in Mumbai and Gujarat. The Sardar Patel Zoological Park and Geodesic Aviary Dome in Kevadia, Gujarat, was inaugurated by the Prime Minister himself in October 2020.
