Mumbai: BMC sanctions 15 crore tender to maintenance Aaditya Thackeray’s penguins

On Monday, November 29, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) standing committee authorised a Rs 15-crore proposal for 3 years of upkeep of the penguin habitat at Byculla zoo, as per a report by TOI. The penguins, owned by the Mumbai Zoo, have been introduced in from Seoul, South Korea, in July 2016 by the present Cabinet Minister of Tourism and Environment for the Government of Maharashtra, Aaditya Thackeray for Rs. 2.5 crores. 
Mumbai: BMC okays Rs 15cr tender for penguin maintenance https://t.co/kuo1TEgvAd— TOI Mumbai (@TOIMumbai) November 29, 2021
The proposal, in response to the media outlet, was authorised by a Shiv Sena-led panel, regardless of the BJP’s opposition to the spending, claiming that the price of maintenance was too costly and alleged irregularities in giving the contract to tainted firms. Interestingly, the proposal to spend the whopping sum to recreate a pure habitat from the penguins was not solely opposed by BJP however Shiv Sena’s ally Congress too. Congress had criticised BMC over the tender price Rs.15 crores+, terming the challenge a waste of cash.
Meanwhile, justifying its choice to sanction the hefty sum for the habitat upkeep of the penguins, BMC claimed that after the penguins have been introduced in 2017, income from the zoo was jumped by Rs 12.26 crores. The variety of guests climbed by roughly 30% after the penguin exhibit opened in March 2017, whereas income soared by practically 500% after the BMC raised the value of entry tickets drastically that very same yr.
BJP Corporator Vinod Mishra claimed that the “tenders were rigged to favour only one company, which had been penalised in the past. The penguins have adjusted to Mumbai but our BMC staff still don’t know how to take care of them and the zoo has been forced to appoint a private company for their care. The per-day cost is Rs1,06,613 now which will go up to Rs 1,39,282 per day. This is a 30% increase in present rates. Only Rs3.16 crore was allocated in the budget but now they are spending 63% per year more. We will move the court on this,” stated Mishra.
New controversy erupts surrounding the penguins purchased by BMC
Recently, the Mumbai Zoo has issued a young price Rs. 15.15 crores to recreate the pure habitat of the penguins in an enclosure. As per reviews, the brand new habitat would unfold over 35,000 sq. toes of space and will likely be a two-storey construction. To make sure the well being and well-being of the birds, the temperature of the entire enclosure ought to be maintained between 16 levels Celsius to 18 levels Celsius. The water temperature within the pond would stay between 11 levels Celsius and 16 levels Celsius. Such circumstances require enormous prices and have attracted one more controversy.
BMC justifies the tender price for the maintenance of penguins
BMC, then again, have been making an attempt to justify the fee because the controversy erupted. They stated that it could embody the price of veterinary fees, fodder price, air-con and air flow system, exhibit upkeep and quarantine space. It additional added that the brand new enclosure is important to make sure the birds dwell. Otherwise, in response to BMC, their lives could be in danger.
Why Aditya Thackeray was nicknamed ‘baby penguin’
As most are conscious that the bringing in of penguins to the Mumbai zoo was the concept of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aditya Thackeray. Thanks to the controversies these penguins have generated in recent times, Aaditya Thackeray has been nicknamed “Baby Penguin”. Interestingly, once in a while, the hashtag retains surfacing on social media platforms.
Last yr, a person named Sameet Thakkar was detained after a criticism was lodged in opposition to him for calling Aaditya Baby Penguin on social media. After a number of weeks of controversy, he was free of jail in November.