The eco-conservation hype generated when the International Bio-diversity Summit was held last year seems to be dissipating. It has been a year since the 15-acre Bio-Diversity Park at Gachibowli came into being with a commemorative pylon, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Several varieties of plants were procured and planted at the site at that time, but it was then.
The much-hyped-about park is now under lock and key, out of bounds for the discerning visitor.
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No one is allowed inside to have a look at the varied plant life.
The park was set up within the A.P. Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) layout at a total cost of more than Rs. 2 crore. It is said to be having about 400 rare and endangered plant species.
But, unless special permission is obtained from the authorities, visitors, even school children, are not allowed inside.
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Even this green space within the new growth region was obtained after some intense lobbying by environmentalists and officials with the powers that be prior to the Bio-Diversity Summit. The government had also appointed a five-member committee of officials to oversee the upkeep of the park.
But, the panel, which comprises top officials from the Environment and Forests Department, A.P. Bio-Diversity Board, APIIC and the GHMC, has not met even once till date.
Officials say that rather than selling the environs, including a hillock adjoining the bio-diversity park, said to be more 200 acres, it is better to declare the entire site as a bio-diversity zone.
“It would be an ideal carbon sink within the new growth region,” they affirm.