HyderabadDecember 11, 2025 06:00 PM IST
First published on: Dec 11, 2025 at 06:00 PM IST
In June this year, the Congress demanded answers from the Centre on whether the proposed agreement between the Delhi Zoo and animal rescue and rehabilitation centre Vantara, based in Gujarat, was the first step towards “handing over” the zoo to a private enterprise.
Slamming the “hush hush manner” of the deal with the Reliance Foundation-run centre, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh sought transparency, tweeting: “The Delhi Zoo is under the direct control of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change. It is planning to sign an agreement with the one and only Vantara and the Gujarat government.”
Six months later, there has been very little noise from the Congress quarters over its government in Telangana signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Vantara on December 8 to set up a wildlife conservatory and organise night safaris in the upcoming Bharat Future City township close to Hyderabad.
The MoU, signed at the Telangana government’s Rising Global Summit, meant to attract investments to the state, is perhaps the first such deal by a state government with Vantara.
Speaking about the MoU, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said Telangana “intends to create tourism assets that prioritise conservation over commercialisation”. He also said that Vantara’s initiative aligns with the state’s broader vision of developing “ecologically sensitive, internationally attractive tourism infrastructure that creates local jobs while safeguarding biodiversity”.
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A statement from the Telangana government describes the project as “a flagship conservation and experiential tourism project”, which “aims to elevate India’s wildlife rehabilitation ecosystem while offering globally benchmarked visitor experiences” and said it will “integrate scientific wildlife care, research, habitat restoration and public education through immersive exhibits and guided night-safari experiences”.
A Telangana Congress leader said there was no contradiction between the stand taken by Ramesh, the party’s in-charge, communication, on Vantara and the state government’s deal.
“Reliance is a big player in the conservation sphere. We are only happy that they have expressed interest in Telangana,” the leader said.
Other leaders refused to speak on the issue.
The BJP has called out the Congress for its “double standards”. “When it comes to big investments in BJP-ruled states, the Congress finds a fault. But when it is investments in Congress-ruled states, they are only happy to get them,” a party leader said.
Apart from Vantara, the Reliance Group also signed an MoU during the investment summit to set up a multi-product FMCG manufacturing facility.
Telangana BJP State President N Ramchander Rao said the party’s only objection was to “blacklisted companies” participating in the global summit.
A regional leader in the Bharat Rashtra Samithi said, “The Congress is showing fake investments in the state and going back on its own stand when it comes to Vantara. It shows the Congress’s duplicity.”
In the past, the Revanth Reddy government has welcomed investments by the Adani Group, despite senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi consistently attacking the Adani and Ambani Groups.
In remarks on X in September after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into Vantara Centre ordered by the Supreme Court, Ramesh had posted: “When it chooses to, the Indian judicial system, that is defined by long delays, moves with the greatest of speed. On Aug 25, 2025, the Supreme Court ordered an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the affairs of Vantara, the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre established by the Reliance Foundation in Jamnagar. The SIT, comprising four distinguished members, was directed to submit its report by September 12, 2025. The SIT submitted its report in a ‘sealed cover’ and on September 15, 2025, the Supreme Court accepted its recommendations and closed the case which had been triggered by a public interest litigation filed on Aug 7, 2025. If only all cases were dealt with and settled so expeditiously… !”