India, Nov. 26 -- The state forest department has raised a series of objections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Draft Zonal Master Plan for the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) surrounding Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), cautioning that relaxed development norms could undermine wildlife protection efforts and worsen human-animal conflict around the protected forest.

In a detailed five-page communication from October 1, signed by Anitta Patil, director, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, addressed to the BMC commissioner, and accessed by HT, the SGNP authority has called for amendments before the plan is finalised, not deviating from the Union ministry's 2016 ESZ notification. The notification regulates construction activity withi...