PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) garden department has proposed a Rs 4-crore palm garden in Yerwada, spread over an area of eight acres and complete with over 40 varieties of palm trees, a km-long jogging track, a meditation area, skating rink and gazebos, among other things.

A PMC official said that the garden has Rs 80 lakh budget provision in 2012-2013 and civil work has already begun. He said that electrical fittings as well as horticultural work will begin by March 2014.

"The 40 varieties of palm trees will co-exist with the existing banyan and rain trees in the patch and will play an important role in the micro and macro climate of the city. Palm trees retain groundwater, thus preventing the ground water table from plummeting. They will also increase the green footprint of the city. In addition, these trees can survive with low quantities of water, which will help in saving the resource from further depletion," said the landscape designers of the project.

They added that keeping in view that imported variety of palms do not endanger the local varieties, the plan is to restrict the number of exotic varieties to 10 or 15. "Also, the imported varieties will come up in restricted patches of the garden, and will be used to educate people. These varieties will co-exist with the rain and banyan trees that are already present here," they said, adding that the exotic varieties will be imported from countries like US and Australia.

The indigenous varieties of palm trees will be brought from a place called Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. Some of the varieties dotting the garden will be tiger palms, royal palms, Sylvester palms, areca palm, fishtail palms, coconut palms, traveler palm, foxtail palm, Indian date palm and bottle palm among others.

The eight-acre garden will be spread over an area of 30625 square meters and will have the Pune Alandi road towards its east and the Mula river to the West. "As per the master plan, the garden will have an entrance plaza, security cabin and fountains and water bodies towards the entrance. These water bodies will surround a group of Ravina palm trees. Further down, visitors will find the line will take visitors to

a 21 m x 25 m skating rink, a 1500 sq mt water body and an 18m x18m meditation and yoga area," the official said.

He added that a children's play area, toddlers' play area, gazebos, pavilion, viewing deck, lawn, a jogging track and mounds will form part of the garden landscape. "The plan is to give a tropical feel to the visitors. The garden will have palm varieties that were earlier not indigenously available in India but adapted to the climate here over the centuries," said the landscape designer, adding that the entrance gate of the garden is themed on the leaf of the Monstera palm and serves as a canopy. and even crafted as a palm leaf.