SPEAK UP: Delhi's parks need to be reclaimed

While talks of making the national capital a Smart City have been going on for a while, restoring the neighbourhood parks, an important aspect of urban planning and social security, has been missing from the development agenda.

In most parts of the capital, the neighbourhood parks paint a grim picture of what is meant to be a recreational space. Uneven grass, garbage dumped in corners, broken and rusting swings and benches, poorly-lit and often unsafe sums up the state of most parks in Delhi

The city has around 14,000 neighbourhood parks and open spaces under various agencies — municipal corporations, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Delhi government. However, lack of maintenance and poor infrastructure defines the state of most of these public parks.

As a result, most parks have become safe havens for anti-social elements.

Astha Kunj, a huge public park located in south Delhi's Kailash Colony area, is a case in point, as it is now known as a den of criminals. It is only now that the DDA has announced a scheme of reviving it as a theme park.

Security is an important issue for parks, as many Delhiites, especially elderly residents, have talked about feeling unsafe about taking a walk even in broad daylight.

The recent incident of a freelance journalist being stabbed by a drug addict in northwest Delhi's Bharat Nagar DDA park while she was out for an evening walk is a grim reminder of what can happen when there is a lack of security.

While security is one issue, the inability to play is another. Broken swings and undesirable elements ensure that children cannot play outside their homes or societies.

The Delhi High Court — in a recent order — had asked civic agencies to divide the parks into a playground area for children and a sitting area for the elderly. But little action has been taken on this front.

It is important that the city reclaims its parks and open spaces for use. An effective policy, awareness drives by the civic agencies and active involvement of RWAs is required to achieve the objective.

EXPERT SPEAK

We need to involve the local community in the maintenance and upkeep of parks by giving them some incentives or funding. A review of the Delhi Master Plan will be taken up this year, which will bring the focus back to parks and open spaces. We need to develop sustainable neighbourhood parks and the civic agencies must start awareness drives to collaborate with residents for the same."
—Chetan Vaidya, director, School of Planning and Architecture

We need to make Delhi greener. It requires a three-way collaborative partnership between the civic bodies, the technical support agency and the RWAs. In some colonies residents maintain the parks, but it needs to be taken up on a wider level. The agencies need to have a more pro-active approach and the will to implement the policy."
—Rakesh Mehta, former Delhi chief secretary

RESIDENTIAL SPEAK

"There is a park around every corner in my locality but none of them is worth visiting. The greenery is declining and so is the cleanliness. The parks seem more of a garbage dump these days. But the government turns deaf to the complaints of local residents."
—Kanika Murarka, resident of Krishna Nagar

"The parks near my house are in very bad shape due to lack of maintenance. They are being used as parking areas. A couple of influential people in the locality use the area as their own property. They even charge money for parking vehicles. Cleanliness is also a problem there. We requested the MCD and wrote to CM as well to clean up the parks but nothing happened. MCD says it's not their responsibility to maintain the parks.
—Vijay Kumar, resident of Green Park

"The condition of the park in my locality has improved since the residents are now responsible for its upkeep. Earlier, the biggest hindrance was the abundance of drug addicts unchecked by the local police and municipal corporations. Since the municipality has turned a blind eye to our problems, we have taken the initiative to keep it clean."
—Pritilata Kar, resident of Hanuman Road

"The District Park in our area is very dirty and people like us only are to be blamed. It is our responsibility as well to keep it clean, not just the government's. I've seen people toss water bottles onto the ground and kick it, the least we could do is pick it up and throw it in the dustbin."
—Priya, resident of Janakpuri

"The condition of parks around my area is not good. The conflict between DDA and MCD regarding who will maintain it, has put the residents at the losing end. Benches, swings, etc need replacemnt. The civic body should make a separate walking and cycling track inside the park."
— Shairq Ali Khan, resident of Dwarka

...& ANALYSIS

• The neighbourhood parks are an important aspect of Delhi's landscape. The issue of their maintenance and facelift has been neglected for years. There is lack of political will and an effective policy for the same
   
• The government and civic agencies must involve local community as stakeholders for improving the state of parks across the city
   
• The Delhi Master Plan aims at making Delhi greener, which is only possible if there are enough green spaces