THE Chhattisgarh Forest and Climate Change Department has unveiled the blueprint for one of the State’s most ambitious ecotourism ventures, propos- ing a Rs 550-crore Public- Private Partnership (PPP) to redevelop the 350-acre Botanical Garden near Jungle Safari, Nava Raipur, and the 43- acre Nandan-Van at Village Atari on the Raipur-Bhilai Road into world-class nature tourism destinations. The proposal was presented during an investors’ meet chaired by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) & Head of Forest Force (HoFF) Arun Kumar Pandey (IFS). It envisages an investment of Rs 500 crore for the Botanical Garden and Rs 50 crore for Nandan-Van under the Design- B u i l d - F i n a n c e - O p e r a t e - Transfer (DBFOT) model. The Government has ruled out Viability Gap Funding (VGF), making it a fully private- capital initiative, with develop- ers to be selected solely on the basis of the highest revenue share offered to the State. The concession period has been fixed at 45 years, extendable by another 45 years, subject to approval of the PPP Appraisal Committee (PPPAC), placing it among the country’s longest ecotourism concession models. At the end of the concession period, all project assets will revert to the Forest Department, which will continue to retain ownership of Nandan-Van throughout. The proposed development includes a Nature Interpretation Centre, tissue cul- ture laboratories, a five-star eco- luxury resort, adventure tourism activities, a heritage museum, wedding lawns, wellness facil- ities, and dedicated outlets for Bastar handicrafts, forest pro- duce, Ayurvedic products, an organic farmers’ market and local artisan enterprises.

 

Speaking to ‘The Hitavada’, PCCG Pandey said the project has been designed to balance ecological conservation with sustainable tourism and that community participation would be encouraged through mar- ketplaces for Bastar art, forest produce, organic farm products and local artisans, although no formal equity or revenue-shar- ing mechanism has been pro- posed. Officials said the concept draws upon internationally recognised ecotourism desti- nations, including Indonesia’s Bogor Botanical Gardens, Seychelles National Botanical Garden and Karnataka’s Brindavan Garden, while adapt- ing global best practices to Chhattisgarh’s ecological land- scape. Jungle Safari presently attracts nearly five lakh visitors annually, while Nandan-Van Zoo received around four lakh visitors every year before its closure in 2017, indicating strong tourism potential after redevelopment.

 

 

Responding to further queries, Pandey said the responsibility for land acquisi- tion and securing the required land for both projects, includ- ing the portion at Nandan-Van earlier identified as ‘under acquisition’, will remain entire- ly with the Forest Department, insulating private bidders from acquisition-related risks. He fur- ther said that after the Forest Department grants construc- tion rights to the selected con- cessionaire, the developer will be required to obtain approval of the detailed development lay- out from the Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA) before execution.

 

When asked about the implementation schedule, Pandey said the Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected to be floated within four to five months. The investors’ interaction witnessed participation from several prominent developers, hospitality groups and infra- structure firms, including Bhutani Infra, Noida repre- sented by Aswani Chaitley; Singhania Buildcon led by Uday Raj Singhania; Maira Industries represented by Shubham Goyal; representatives of Shalimar Corp Ltd, the Avinash Group, industrialist Vivek Agarwal of Raipur, Gagandeep of Grand Imperia Hotel, Ritesh Agarwal, Avdesh Shukla of the Babylon Group, besides several oth- er leading business groups from Chhattisgarh. With Chhattisgarh possessing the third-largest forest cover in India, officials believe the project has the poten- tial to emerge as a national model for integrating ecologi- cal conservation with responsible private investment while ensuring long-term environmental sustainability.