World's largest Safari Park | 30 Sep 2022

Why In News?

On September 29, 2022, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar informed that the world's largest safari park will be set up in an area of about 10 thousand acres falling in the Aravalli mountain range of Gurugram and Nuh districts of the state.

Key Points

• This project will be the largest such project in the world. Currently the largest curated safari park outside Africa is in Sharjah, which opened in February 2022, with an area of about two thousand acres.
• The proposed Aravalli Park will be 5 times the size and will include a large herpeterium, aviary/bird park, four zones of Big Cats, a large area for herbivorous animals, an area for exotic animals and birds, an underwater world, nature trails/visitor/tourism zone, There will be botanical gardens/biomasses, equatorial/tropical/coastal/desert etc.
• The Chief Minister said that there is immense potential for jungle safari in Haryana-NCR region. After the realization of the jungle safari scheme, tourism in NCR will get a big boost and employment opportunities will be created for the local people.
• Haryana's Jungle Safari project will be a joint project of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India and the Government of Haryana. Under one scheme, the central government will also provide funds to Haryana for this project.
• An international EOI was floated for the project and two companies with international experience in designing and operating such facilities have been shortlisted. She will now participate in an international design competition to design, oversee and operate the park. At the same time, an Aravalli Foundation will be set up, which will manage the project.
• The Chief Minister said that the Central Zoo Authority has done an evaluation study of the area for this and has agreed to the technical feasibility of setting up such a park.
• The Chief Minister said that with the development of jungle safari, on the one hand, while it will help in preserving this mountain range, on the other hand, a large number of people from Delhi and surrounding areas will come here for tourism, which will provide employment opportunities for the local people. Villagers in nearby villages will benefit under the home stay policy.
• Significantly, the Aravalli Mountain range is a cultural heritage site, where many species of birds, wild animals, butterflies etc. are found. According to a survey conducted a few years ago, 180 species of birds, Mammals, 15 species of mammals, wildlife, 29 species of reptiles i.e., land crawling and water living creatures and 57 species of butterflies exist in the Aravalli Mountain range.