Delhi govt kicks off park beautification scheme; Manish Sisodia to oversee campaign

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia examined the 'Chief Minister's Park Beautification Scheme', aimed at making Delhi one of the most livable cities in the world, on Thursday. Under the scheme, first announced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in 2018, the Delhi government will renovate all parks in the city.    

'We want the contribution of all citizens': Manish Sisodia

Sisodia said that Delhi will be transformed into a garden city and urged residents to help conserve and beautify the city's parks. The deputy chief minister will be visiting Delhi's parks and assess the progress of beautification works. In addition, proposals for park improvement will be solicited from the surrounding community, the Delhi government informed.

Sisodia said that the Delhi government intends to renovate parks so that they match those observed in developed countries around the world. Taking into account public feedback, the Chief Minister's Park Beautification Scheme will see park entrances made more appealing, open gyms set up, walking paths upgraded, and various species of flowers, fruits, and plants planted.

Sisodia said, "Delhi is like a family and every member has an important role in making this family beautiful. We want the contribution of all the citizens of Delhi in making the parks of Delhi beautiful. Let us all contribute together to making Delhi a vibrant city."

Approximately 18,000 parks and gardens to be corated in Delhi

As per the Delhi Parks and Gardens Society of the Delhi government, Delhi's territory has over 18,000 parks and gardens distributed in various locations across Delhi. The Delhi Parks and Gardens Society believes that the parks have the potential to increase the region's green cover and meet the environmental sustainability goals.

As per the Delhi government, authorities such as the MCD, DDA, NDMC, PWD, CPWD, and others are presently in charge of these regions. While a handful of them are well-managed, the majority are in poor condition, as stated by the Society. Some Resident Associations are actively involved in the management of these parks, while others are less involved. This also contributed to the non-maintenance of the parks in Delhi. The Delhi State Government established the Delhi Parks and Garden Society, which is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, to coordinate the management of parks and gardens in the National Capital Territory.

The objectives of the Delhi Parks and Gardens Society as stated by the Delhi government are to meet environmental sustainability goals, take up greenery projects whenever there is a suitable vacant plot to do so, work on establishing and keeping up parks, involve NGOs and Delhi residents in environmental projects and other activities to encourage all of the greenery projects. 

(With inputs from ANI, Image: PTI)