Cuttack: A private firm has started preparing a detailed project report for a second deer park in the city.

"The report is expected to be ready within a month. Cost estimation of the project will be done once we get the report," Cuttack Municipal Corporation commissioner Bikash Ranjan Mohapatra said.

The civic body had allocated Rs 20 lakh for the new project in its annual budget for 2017-18. Overcrowding of deer at the existing Madhusudan Nagar park has necessitated relocation of some animals to another park.

The Madhusudan Nagar park had come up in the 1980s. At present, it houses some 170 deer spread over two-and-a-half acres, while the regulation permits only three to five deer in an acre.

The second park was mooted after the Central Zoo Authority officials had asked the civic body to relocate the excess animals following a 2009 inspection. It followed up the issue with the civic body after another round of inspection in December 2014.

But, the project had been hanging fire due to non-availability of land. The authority had specified that at least 29 acres would be required for the second park.

Mohapatra said the new park would come up on 39 acres near Naraj at Mundali. The land belongs to the state revenue department. "The district administration has been asked to provide the land at the earliest," he said.

The project report involves carrying out a detailed engineering topographic survey for the deer park area, soil investigation and preparation of a master plan according to the guideline or specification of the Central Zoo Authority.

The second park is being planned in a manner that it becomes a tourist attraction with provisions for food and recreational facilities.

Madhusudan Nagar resident Pravat Ranjan Dash said: "We eagerly look forward to seeing when the second park becomes a reality."