The Maharashtra forest department has given green nod for a car park to be built inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). Around one ha of forest land has been diverted for this purpose.
The proposal for the car park was drawn out at least three years ago. The vehicles coming to SGNP will be halted there and tourists will be taken inside in battery-operated buses.
The car park with a capacity to park 300 vehicles will come up near the Krishnagiri Upvan office (ticket counter) located at the entrance of the national park.
The R-Central ward committee had given approval for the parking lot in October 2017. The car park space will be developed by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation which will also collect the toll and maintain it for 15 years.
MTDC has provided 13 battery-operated vehicles which will be used to ferry people around the park. The car park will be functional in less than a year.