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Now Delhi zoo also belongs to Ambani — aka another 'Vantara' project?

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National Heraldpublisher-detail-arrow
03rd June, 2025 12:46 IST

So now, the Delhi zoological has also been handed over to Ambani.

This biggest of deals has already been signed, apparently — although the zoo director purportedly remains unaware.

The agreement has been made with Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, Jamnagar — a la Anant Ambani’s famed Vantara — to manage Delhi Zoo, per a circular that has been... circulating.

The Greens Zoological team has, reportedly, already conducted a thorough survey of the Delhi zoo premises. However, the ground reality is that despite the MoU (Reference No. GJZRRRC/2025/SGO/42) being dated 28 May 2025, the GJZRRRC team inspected the National Zoological Park in Delhi Zoo on 31 May and 1 June.

According to sources at the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC) and the Prime Minister’s Office, discussions are in the final stages to involve the ‘prestigious’ private group in managing the zoo. The goal: to bring world-class facilities and infrastructure, including air-conditioned medical units, modern rehabilitation centres and state-of-the-art enclosures.

The Greens survey team reportedly included six members: veterinary doctors, yes, and also a kitchen manager and a site manager.

Readers will, doubtless, recall Vantara in Jamnagar, Gujarat, as a state-of-the-art ‘wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and conservation centre’ spread over approximately 3,000 acres (some sources say 3,500 acres) in the green belt area of the Reliance Refinery, .

Now, India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 of course strictly prohibits hunting, trading, importing, exporting or disturbing wild animals and their natural habitats without government permission. In May 2024, Vantara brought 1,825 live animals — including jaguars, tapirs, crocodiles and various monkeys — from Venezuela to India under a private agreement.

This deal was allegedly struck under the pretext of ‘conservation’, but there were multiple accusations of lack of transparency and inadequate government oversight.

Opening a zoo or rescue centre in India, meanwhile, requires approval from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), yet multiple procedural violations have been reported in Vantara’s case.

Handing over the reins of Delhi’s prestigious zoo to such a dubious organisation, then, can hardly be seen as anything but a commercial coup by the Ambani group.

The National Zoo in Delhi was conceived after India’s Independence in 1953 and was inaugurated on 1 November 1959 by then union minister Punjab Rao Deshmukh. It came up on the marshy land near the Purana Qila, with significant contributions from Sri Lanka’s Major Wineman and West Germany’s Carl Hagenbeck. Today, it spans about 176 acres and houses over 1,200 animal species.

Entrusting such a precious national asset directly into private hands is both shameful and dangerous. From an environmental and biodiversity perspective, this is a disastrous step. From the public’s perspective, such privatisation will inevitably increase the burden on service conditions and visitors.

Also, private institutions, under the guise of wildlife conservation, often prioritise tourism, events and branding. This can lead to commercial interests overshadowing animal welfare, as has been alleged in Vantara’s case before.

Make no mistake: Under Ambani stewardship now the Delhi zoo too will become a hub for VIP events, celebrity visits and exclusive invitations, just like Vantara offers. This could limit public access and turn this public zoo into a ‘private club’, which goes against the very spirit of public service the project was supposed to uphold, alongside wildlife conservation.

Views are personal. More of Pankaj Chaturvedi’s writing may be read .

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