The Hindu 12.09.2014
Govt. plans beautification of Delhi
Water-logging, bad roads, and dirty parks may soon be
history for Delhiites as the Urban Development Ministry along with civic
agencies is working on a plan to clean and beautify the Capital.
Taking
a step further towards the ‘Clean and Green Delhi’ drive, Urban
Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday discussed the plan
with officials of the Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Jal Board, the
three municipal corporations, and the New Delhi Municipal Council .
Mr.
Naidu said that the general public’s perception of management of public
places and utilities is poor and it should be changed though a special
drive.
Among the measures discussed at the review meeting , the most important ones were removal of
malba
from the roadside, anti-water logging measures, repair and painting of
roads and footpaths, and cleaning and facelift for urinals.
Out
of the total Delhi Urban Area of 44,777 hectares, 8,722 hectares is
under green/recreational land use. Of this, 5,050 hectares is with the
DDA (42 per cent).
The DDA , the nodal agency for the
beautification of Delhi, has been given the responsibility of tree
plantation, streetscape improvement , increasing number of streetlights,
installing street furniture and public conveniences besides reviving 59
water bodies and building toilets in parks and public areas.
The
DDA will upgrade facilities in 25 children’s parks, play fields in 80
parks, construct open gyms in 20 parks, and come up with more shelters,
food kiosks, open spaces and plazas.
Knowledge Parks
for children would also be promoted by the DDA. One such park for
differently-abled children will be developed at sector 21 in Dwarka at a
cost of Rs. 14 crore.
Five bio-diversity parks developed by the DDA would soon be opened to the public.
Mr. Naidu urged all the organisations to designate officers for coordinating and monitoring the clean and green activities.
The
Minister also asked the Delhi Government to evolve a strategy to
address the issues relating to beggars, rag pickers, homeless, and
migrants.