While the opposition has slammed the Shiv Sena-ruled civic body for issuing a tender at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore for the maintenance of seven penguins at the Byculla zoo for the next three years, the BMC administration says the revenue of the zoo increased manifold after their arrival, and even after deduction of their maintenance cost, it is more than what it was before. The Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan received revenue of Rs 14.46 crore in three years after they displayed the penguins and it spent Rs 11.46 crore, nearly 80 per cent of the revenue, on their upkeep. However, BMC officials are ready for a review and to see if something can be done to reduce the cost of maintenance.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) floated a tender worth Rs 15.26 crore for 36 months for the maintenance of the penguins on August 13. Leader of Opposition in BMC, Ravi Raja of the Congress, objected to the high maintenance cost. He said that more than Rs 11 crore has already been spent on the penguins under the current three-year contract which expires this month and there is no need to spend so much on them.