By IANS,
Kolkata: A zoo authority has been set in West Bengal to control the two largest zoos in the state, an official said here Saturday.
The Alipore Zoological Gardens in the city and the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park at Darjeeling will now be controlled by the West Bengal State Zoo Authority.
State Chief Secretary Samar Ghosh is the chairman of the authority and senior forest department officials are its members.
“The committee members held their first meeting Friday at the State Secretariat – Writers’ Buildings where it was decided that the newly formed body will have the role of guiding, supervising and monitoring the zoos in the state,” a senior forest department official said.
“The managing committees of the zoos at Alipore and Darjeeling have been dissolved and their functions will now be conducted by this authority,” the official said.
“The private zoos will not come directly under the purview of this authority. If there are any violations of the guidelines laid down by the Central Zoo Authority, it will be empowered to act against them.”
It was also decided in the meeting that the entry fee of the Alipore Zoological Gardens will be hiked from Rs.20 to Rs.30.
Alipore Zoological Gardens director Raju Das told IANS: “The day-to-day operations will be looked after by the director and staff of the zoos, but all major policy decisions shall be taken by the state zoo authority from now on.”