Haryana

• 30 Sep 2022

World's largest Safari Park

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.

Center of Excellence in Post-Harvest Management and Coldchain

Why In News?

On September 29, 2022, in Birmingham (UK), Haryana's Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister J. Dr. Sumita Mishra, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department in the presence of P. Dalal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of the Government of Haryana with the University of Birmingham for setting up a Center of Excellence in Post-Harvest Management and Cold Chain in the state of Haryana.

Key Points

• It is to be noted that the Agriculture Minister and other officials have gone to Birmingham to participate in the ongoing Cold Chain Summit at Birmingham University on 29th and 30th September and will also visit the institutions associated with the Center of Excellence to be set up in Haryana.
• Minister Jai Prakash Dalal said that this centre of excellence will prove to be a milestone in the field of reducing post-harvest losses, enhancing the knowledge of farmers and other stakeholders, use of environment and farmer friendly technologies and research and development. As a result, diversification towards horticulture will increase greatly in the state.
• Addressing the participants at the Cold Chain Summit, the Agriculture Minister said that Haryana currently has about 7 per cent area under horticulture crops. 393 horticulture clusters, 13 integrated packhouses have been built in the state and 50 other pack houses are under construction. More 500 integrated pack houses will be set up in the coming five years.
• He said that Haryana would be a pioneer state in providing systematic supply chain of fresh fruits and vegetables and connecting farmers directly to the agricultural market. So far, 59 MoUs have been signed by various farmer group organizations with companies in the agriculture sector in the state.
• He said that to strengthen the supply chain, setting up of integrated packhouses, pre-shipment treatment facilities like E-radiation, Vapor Heat Treatment (VHT), Hot Water Dip Treatment (HWDT) etc. need to be created.
• Dr. Sumita Mishra talked about developing a conducive system to promote clean green energy and cold chain system, so that losses from harvesting crops to retail sales can be prevented.
• It is noteworthy that under the able leadership of Chief Minister Manohar Lal, the state government is continuously running welfare schemes in the interest of farmers. Haryana has also launched the Chief Minister's Horticulture Insurance Scheme to make horticulture farmers risk-free.
• In addition, the state government is continuously encouraging farmers to adopt crop diversification to promote horticulture crops.