The Maharashtra government is pushing for a privately funded wildlife museum, modelled after Gujarat’s Vanatara, to enhance wildlife conservation efforts.
The government has reached out to Anant Ambani, son of industrialist Mukesh Ambani, for support in making the initiative a reality.
State Forest Minister Ganesh Naik informed the Assembly on Wednesday that the government has already written to the Centre, seeking approval for the project.
Naik made the announcement while responding to a discussion raised by MLAs Kashinath Date and Mangesh Chavan regarding the increasing presence of leopards in residential areas near farms and cities.
“I have also written to Reliance Foundation director Anant Ambani to start a Vantara-like project in Maharashtra. He can name it ‘Chandtara’ or ‘Suryatara’,” Naik noted.
Animal rescue centre Vantara, established by Reliance Industries and Reliance Foundation within the company’s refinery complex in Gujarat’s Jamnagar district, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 4.
The 3,000-acre animal rescue and rehabilitation centre is owned and managed by Anant Ambani.
The centre is dedicated to the rescue, treatment, care, and rehabilitation of animals.
It is a brainchild of Anant Ambani, son of industrialist Mukesh Ambani and director on the boards of Reliance Industries and Reliance Foundation.
The forest minister, while speaking in the assembly, said that while the number of tigers in Maharashtra had risen from 101 in 2000 to 444 in 2024, the prey base in core areas of wildlife sanctuaries was shrinking.
The rising human-wildlife conflict has been a growing concern in Maharashtra, with frequent sightings of leopards and tigers in populated regions.
