Haryana is all set to develop the world’s largest jungle safari park on an area of 10,000 acres in the Aravalli mountain range of Gurugram and Nuh districts. The project will be the largest such project in the world. Currently, the largest curated safari park outside Africa is in Sharjah, which was opened in February 2022 on an area of about 2000 acres. The proposed Aravalli Park would be five times this size and would include a large herpetarium, an aviary/bird park, four zones for big cats, a large area for herbivores, an area for exotic animal birds, an underwater world, nature trails, visitors, tourism zones, botanical gardens, biomes, equatorial, tropical, coastal, desert, etc.
An international EOI was floated for the project, and two companies with international experience in designing and operating such facilities have been shortlisted. The said companies will now compete in an international design competition for the design, overseeing, and operation of the park. An Aravalli Foundation will be set up, which will manage the project. The Central Zoo Authority has done an evaluation study of the area for this and has agreed upon the technical feasibility of setting up such a park.
The Union Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, and Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, along with the delegation, visited Sharjah Jungle Safari. The Chief Minister said that the NCR region of Haryana has immense potential to be developed into a jungle safari. After the implementation of the Jungle Safari scheme, not only will the tourism in the state get a big boost, but it will also provide ample employment opportunities for the local people. He further said that the Jungle Safari project in Haryana would be a joint project of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India and the Government of Haryana. Under a scheme, the central government will also provide funds to Haryana for this project.