The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) plan to display exotic animals has taken another step forward, as the Central Zoo Authority has approved its phase III or zoo extension project. The phase includes procuring the animals and birds. After the BMC acquired 12 acres of a Mafatlal Mill plot, it submitted the amended master layout for phase III for Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan or the Byculla Zoo.

The BMC claims to have got the approval in a record three months, compared to the earlier approval that took about four years. The estimated cost of phase III is R200 crore. The BMC has also sent two requests for proposals – one with a tender for construction of 10 enclosures, the other for the construction of five enclosures and other civic amenities' development.