SHILLONG: Forest & Environment Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui said a review meeting would be held next week to discuss the long pending issue of the proposed state zoo at Umtrew, Ri-Bhoi.
Stating that he was briefed by the department officials on the matter, he told reporters, “The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report will have to be studied so that the people will know about the matter.”
Maintaining the state should have a state zoo, he said corrective measures would be taken with regard to the state zoo as the project has remained a non-starter for more than 10 years.
It may be mentioned the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) tabled in the Assembly on Friday said the 12th Finance Commission had in 2005 recommended a grant of Rs 30 crore for construction of a Zoological Park at Umtrew in Ri Bhoi district and accordingly released Rs 12 crore in March 2007 to the department.
The objectives for construction of the zoo was, among others, to conserve, breed endangered wild species and provide shelter to wild animals rescued from forests.
More than 10 years after the release of the grant, work on the state zoo had not progressed.
Commenting on human-animal conflict, Rymbui called upon the cooperation of the people to protect animals and to report to the department in case of animal deaths.
As for the identifying of elephant corridors, he said it was a continuous process as constant monitoring of the elephants’ movement should be in place.
Referring to the trans-migration of the pachyderms from Bangladesh to the state, he said the department had informed the Union government to not erect border fences in certain points where the elephants walk to allow them safe passage.