The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday directed the state government that no recreational activity should be permitted in the forest area near Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary in Hospet where the Atal Behari Vajpayee Zoological is being shifted from its present location in Ballari.
The court also said that minimum required construction should be carried out for operation of zoo on the new premises at Kamalapura in Hospet.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the order while disposing of a PIL petition filed in 2017 by Santosh Martin and Rajesh M. Krupad, Ballari-based conservationists.
Taking note that the forest advisory committee in February 2021 had permitted shifting of zoo to the forest area in Kamalapur, the Bench said the order of the apex court in restraining establishment a recreational park near a bird sanctuary in Utter Pradesh does not come in the way of establishing a zoological park next of the bear sanctuary in Hospet.
Moreover, the Bench noted that the state government has made it clear in its statement that no recreational activities are proposed at the new location of the zoo and only minimum construction is being undertaken for operation of the zoo.
