For years, the idea of an urban night safari in India existed only in a paper. However, that has changed now. The Supreme Court has granted conditional clearance to Uttar Pradesh for a night safari and zoological park in the Kukrail reserve forest area of Lucknow, clearing the last major hurdle for what is being billed as India’s first urban night safari.
What The Court Has Ordered?
A bench, including the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, permitted the Uttar Pradesh government to proceed with the project. The approval is not unconditional, though. The bench mandated absolute compliance with environmental safeguards laid down by the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
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To keep a check on the progress, the Court has directed the Member Secretary of the CEC to periodically visit the site and monitor compliance, with the first report due within three months.
During the hearing, petitioners who argued the reserve forest would be disturbed found little sympathy from the bench. CJI Surya Kant remarked that zoos are old now and that experts exist to examine such matters, effectively signalling that the state’s plan, already vetted by domain specialists, would move forward
Everything About The Project
The numbers involved here are considerable. Kukrail is a well known reserve forest spanning 2,027.4 hectares, and the state intends to develop the safari and zoological park across a designated 855.07 hectares within it. The project, divided into two phases, is being developed at the sprawling 5,000-hectare Kukrail Reserve Forest and carries an estimated cost of around Rs 1,500 crore.
Kukrail is no stranger to conservation work. The forest was originally developed in the 1970s as a crocodile breeding centre and remains one of India’s few dedicated gharial conservation sites, alongside deer, monkeys, reptiles, and a rich population of birds that already draw birdwatchers to the area. Layering a night safari onto this existing ecosystem is meant to turn a quiet conservation zone into a full-fledged nocturnal wildlife experience, letting visitors observe nocturnal species during their naturally active hours rather than through daytime enclosures.
While operational details, ticketing, and opening dates will depend on how quickly compliance conditions are met, the template set by other Indian night safaris offers some clues. At Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta night safari, for instance, low, moonlight-like lighting and quiet electric or CNG trams were used to minimise stress on nocturnal animals – an approach Kukrail’s planners are likely to mirror given the CEC’s environmental mandate.
For now, Lucknow’s night safari remains a work in progress, but with the Supreme Court’s approval secured and a monitoring mechanism in place, the city is closer than ever to offering India’s first after-dark wildlife trail. Travellers eyeing Lucknow for its kebabs, chikankari, and Nawabi architecture may soon have one more reason to linger after sunset.