TNN, Oct 10, 2010, 12.31am IST
HAZARIBAG: People will soon enjoy tiger safari at Canary Hill zone reserve forest on the outskirts of the Hazaribag town.
The decision which state forest department officials term “historic” was taken by the State Wildlife Advisory Board at its meeting headed by chief minister Arjun Munda on October 7.
With this project, Canary Hill will be one of the most sought-after tourist spots in the state, said local MLA Sourav Narayan Singh, who is also a member of the State Wildlife Advisory Board.
RCCF (Hazaribag) B R Ralhan and PCCF (wildlife) C R Sahay also participated at the meeting.
The project was mooted about 10 years ago on receipt of a Rs 6-crore fund provided by the Indian Railways for beautification of Hazaribag. It was sent to the Central Zoo Authority of India for clearance but did not get clearance, as it was not approved by the State Wildlife Advisory Board and the proposal was sent back to the state government to come up with a report for the Central Zoo Authority of India.
The State Wildlife Advisory Board, reconstituted about two years ago, was virtually defunct and it never met to approve projects, including the tiger safari, before its first meeting on October 7. The project report will be now sent to the Central Zoo Authority of India where it is expected to get the final clearance.
Conservator of forests (Bokaro circle) A K Patra, under whose jurisdiction the Hazaribag east division falls, said about 30 hectares of land has already been preserved just below Canary Hill where tigers from other areas will be brought and kept in special enclosures where tourists can watch tigers from outside the fencing areas.
He said details of the project are still being worked out.
MLA Singh said in the same meeting a deer park project at Canary Hill was also cleared where around 100 deer from other forests and zoos would be shifted so that it can serve dual purpose for attracting tourists and also give exposure to deer living in jungles where they will get protection.
Another project cleared at the meeting was to allow the transmission line for the Katkumsandi block to pass through the national park area without felling trees. It will help provide power to hundreds of villages in this block where construction of a power sub-station was taken up under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Programme, said Singh.
