Lucknow: In a major development, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA)has given its approval to the master plan of Etawah’s lion safari. This gives the project the full and the final consent from CZA to go ahead. However, what may put spanner in the wheel is the clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which is still awaited. The fact that the safari is proposed in Fisher forest area, a reserve forest area, getting a clearance under FCA is mandatory for the state government.

In the final meeting of the inside committee of the Central Zoo Authority, where the master plan of the project bagged final consent, the need to obtain clearance under FCA was reiterated.