The Mamata Banerjee government has decided to sell off 254 cottahs, or 4.2 acres, of prime land just opposite Alipore zoo in an apparent bid to generate more revenue to run its welfare schemes smoothly.

Officials at Nabanna said monetising the land, which was allotted to the forest department 12 years ago for setting up a quarantine centre for animals brought from other states or countries before housing them in the Alipore Zoological Garden — was expected to fetch more than ₹300 crore.

The land also has a now-defunct aquarium run by the forest department and quarters for nurses of a veterinary hospital nearby. Government sources said the quarters would be relocated. The quarantine centre never came up as the zoo continues to use the isolation unit inside its premises.

Tax stagnation and the drying up of central funds for development schemes have hamstrung the state exchequer.

“The state faces a revenue-generation crisis. The government is reluctant to impose new taxes to generate funds. The other way to generate tax revenue is through the creation of new industries. That has not happened in the state under the Mamata Banerjee government,” an official at Nabanna, the state secretariat, said.

“To add to the woes, the Centre has stopped releasing funds under several rural development schemes. This has left the state government with no alternative but to monetise its prime plots to generate revenue to run its welfare and development schemes in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly polls,” the official added.

The forest department recently transferred the land opposite the zoo back to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The KMC is to hand over the land to the West Bengal Housing Development Corporation (WBHIDCO) — a state government undertaking — for auction.

The plot near Alipore zoo that the government has decided to auction off.   Picture by Pradip Sanyal

“The entire proposal has been forwarded to the committee of secretaries headed by the chief secretary for its approval before it is tabled before the cabinet,” a senior government official said.

KMC sources said the land was returned to the civic authorities with some preconditions.

“The civic body will have to arrange for an alternative plot measuring 2,000sqm for the quarantine centre and the land should be within a radius of 2km of the zoo. The KMC must also make arrangements to develop a modern aquarium as the existing one had to be demolished while handing over the land,” said a source.

The aquarium housed domestic and exotic varieties of underwater species such as alligator gar, sharks and marine fish.

Moreover, the KMC would allot land to set up quarters for the nurses of the veterinary hospital where animals from the zoo receive treatment.

“Two years ago, the WBHIDCO had auctioned a 5.6-acre plot in Alipore, which had fetched ₹400 crore. It is expected that the zoo land parcel will help raise more than ₹300 crore,” said an official.

Explaining the Bengal government’s cash compulsions, sources pointed to its promise to release funds to construct 11.36 rural houses after the Centre held up funds under the PMAY. The state is spending a handsome amount to repair rural roads as the Centre has not released funds under the rural roads scheme. The state spends more than ₹50,000 crore on its welfare schemes, including Lakshmir Bhandar.

Recently, the state government asked its departments and the district administrations to prepare a list of land parcels in their possession and send it to Nabanna.

“It is clear that the government wants to monetise all vacant government plots that have commercial value to generate revenue,” a source said.