Jammu, Nov 2 (PTI) Taking a serious note of the alleged slow pace of work at Jambu Zoo, the forest department on Tuesday asked officers to take action against contractors who are not meeting the given timeline.

On September 10, 2017, then forest minister Choudhary Lal Singh laid the foundation stone of Rs 120 crore project for the development of the zoo at Khanpur on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

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Commissioner- secretary of forest department Sanjeev Verma asked the officers concerned for floating balance tenders, including tenders of services, at the earliest.

The project encompasses three components including infrastructure, animal enclosures and services, officials said.

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Meanwhile, in a meeting, it was informed that work on veterinary hospital, animal feed store, animal kitchen, slopes stabilisation and view points are near completion.

Pertinently, the Jambu Zoo shall be the first full-fledged zoo in Jammu and Kashmir which shall be a major attraction for domestic as well as outside tourists. Besides, it will serve as a centre for education and awareness about wildlife and biodiversity conservation, officials said.

Upon completion, the Jambu Zoo will host several native and exotic animals in its 17 enclosures apart from having various public amenities.

The current first phase of the project is being funded at an estimated cost of Rs 62.41 crore, they added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)