Mumbai: BMC's Nahur Aviary Project Faces Bidder Drought; Third Tender Issued

Mumbai: The BMC's ambitious project to set up an aviary at Nahur village has failed to attract bidders so far. The civic body has re-tendered it for the third time with a deadline of December 29 for the submission of bids. The aviary is an extension of the one in Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Garden and Zoo at Byculla.

The BMC had invited a tender for consultants to prepare a detailed project report for the aviary on November 3. The aviary will be set up on a 6,381 sqm area reserved for gardens and park at Nahur in Mulund West. The consultant will study the plot and the climatic conditions in the area to determine which species of exotic birds will be suitable for the sanctuary.

One bidder shows interest

Since only one bidder showed interest in the project, the BMC re-tendered it on December 7. However, not a single bid was submitted the second time, for which the BMC re-tendered it for the third time. A senior civic official said, "Since it is a satellite facility of Byculla zoo, it is rare to get a response from international consultant firms. Even if we get a single response this time, we will award the contract to that bidder."

This is not the first time that the BMC has planned a bird park in the city. The proposal was first mooted in 2013 with an estimated cost of Rs150 crore. The BMC had then allotted a 25-acre plot to house the huge bird and reptile population in Powai. A project consultant was appointed to prepare the master plan, but several delays led to it being scrapped. The proposal met the same fate in 2019.

Byculla zoo has an aviary, spread over 18,234 sq ft, 44 feet high with 222 birds of 16 species.