In order to ease the load on the only wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), the forest department is coming up with a dedicated wildlife transit rescue centre at Shilphata near Kalyan. The facility, which is worth Rs 90 lakh, will not just have treatment and post-care facilities for injured animals, but also arrangements for conducting funerals.

According to the forest department's plans, the centre will be ready by the first or the second week of June following which it would be made operational in the next couple of days. Confirming the development, deputy conservator of forest, Dr Jitendra Ramgaonkar from Thane, said, "Construction of the transit wildlife rescue centre on a 1-acre plot in Shilphata is in progress. More than 80 per cent work has been completed. The centre will be opened by the first or second week of June. Once operational, the facility will cater to injured wild animals that are rescued by forest department officials and volunteers of various NGOs from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region."