New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the opinion of the central empowered committee (CEC) on the Haryana government's proposal of launching a zoo safari in Aravalli while clarifying that the project will only go through if the expert body grants clearance. The court was dealing with an application filed by five retired bureaucrats from Haryana on whose plea the top court had on October 8, 2025, stayed any further movement on the project. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant noted that till date, no expert opinion has been obtained on the feasibility of the project as even the state government did not obtain one before submitting a draft detailed project report (DPR) for approval before the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) in September last year. Issuing notice to CEC, the bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said, "We direct the CEC to submit its opinion through a report to be placed on record." The court continued its earlier interim order of October 8 maintaining the stay. Haryana's additional advocate general (AAG) Lokesh Singhal said that while the court took up the matter in October, the court had expressed apprehension of having a safari in a degraded forest land. The court had then cited its March 2024 judgment related to the Corbett tiger safari project at Pakhrau which set up a committee that allowed safari to function alongside a rescue and rehabilitation centre. Singhal said, "This judgment will not be applicable to this case as this is a zoo safari and not tiger safari." He explained that the area earmarked for the project is a "degraded forest" area in Mewat region where once illegal mining took place. "We consider that developing a zoo safari will activate the ponds in the area and protect forests." Senior advocate K Parmeshwar assisting the court as amicus curiae informed the court that the CEC may face a problem as presently, no details are known about the project. The applicants represented by advocate Shibani Ghosh told the court that the safari is projected as a tourist destination on a forest land. "So long as the work does not start, we have no concern." The order came on an application filed by five retired Indian Forest Service officers and the non-profit People for Aravallis, who have called the planned safari a "death knell" for the ecologically fragile region....