The Times of India         26.11.2013

Aurangabad Municipal Corporation may get zoo land in Mitmita-Padegaon

AURANGABAD: The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) long-pending dream of acquiring about 40 hectares of land to shift its zoo may soon come true, as the district administration has indicated that the municipal corporation may get land in Mitmita-Padegaon villages on the outskirts of the city.

Tehsildar (Aurangabad) Vijay Raut said on Monday that the defence ministry was in need of 100 hectares of land for its ammunition depot. "We are undertaking measurement of the land for defence ministry from Tuesday. Besides, the municipal corporation is also looking for 40 hectares of land in the same area for the past few months," he said. But Raut said that the district administration had not received any orders from the state government to undertake measurement of the land for the civic body.

However, sources in the district administration and civic body said that things were moving in the right direction. "During the recent visit of municipal commissioner Harshdeep Kamble and some senior army officers to Mitmita-Padegaon villages, it appeared that the civic body may also get the land," sources said.

A highly placed source said the municipal commissioner had expressed faith that the AMC would be getting the land. "The municipal commissioner had also examined the viability of shifting the zoo in the area," he said. Kamble was not available for comments on the issue.

When asked to comment on the matter, divisional commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal said that there were no developments concerning the land acquisition process. "The proposal had been sent to the state government long ago. We had also replied to a query on the issue. However, there are no directions in this regard. It is too early to say that the AMC would get the land," he said.

As per the instructions of the Central Zoo Authority, the municipal body is searching for about 40 hectares of land to shift its zoo located in the heart of the city. At present, the zoo occupies 20 acres of land.