Mumbai: BMC reissues aviary tender after poor response to first one

The BMC had tried to set up an aviary in 2010, too, but the project was never implemented. Representation Pic

After receiving only one bidder to set up an aviary (bird enclosure) at Nahur, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has again issued a tender for a project management consultant. The civic body wants to set up an aviary which would be an extension to the Byculla zoo. The BMC initiated the project to develop an aviary in the eastern suburbs, far from the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo at Byculla.

It floated a tender in November to set up the aviary in Nahur on a plot measuring 6,381 square metres and provided a month for responses. "We received only one response. To get better responses, we have floated the tender again. The BMC will give us a plan for the construction and management of the aviary. Accordingly, the cost and other things will shape up," said Dr Sanjay Tripathi, director of the zoo.

Dr Tripathi added that there are currently 222 birds of 16 species in the Byculla zoo. "We are expecting that the BMC will suggest how many birds can be shifted to Nahur and how many have to be procured from other zoos via exchange programmes. The consultant will also evaluate the site and climate to determine suitable exotic bird species for the aviary," Dr Tripathi said.

If all goes according to plan, the BMC will receive a plan within the next three to four months. The plans then need to be approved by the Central Zoo Authority. The project will start thereafter.

The project is the corporation's second attempt to set up an aviary. It had initiated a similar plan in 2010. The plan was to set up an aviary in a garden spread over 13 acres near Powai lake. The BMC wanted to relocate all birds from the zoo and add exotic birds. The corporation even appointed a consultant but the project was never implemented.

16
Species of birds in Byculla zoo

222
No of birds in the zoo