The Times of India 24.08.2012
More parks, but Chennai needs green thumb
Even if Corporation of Chennai keeps its word and sets up 100 more parks
in the suburbs, the city will still not have as many parks as most
other metropolises in the country. Chennaiites will have one public
green space every 500 metres when its 260 parks increase to 360. But the
city will still have fewer parks than Delhi, which has 15,000 parks,
Bangalore (721) and Hyderabad (709). There are nearly 1,300 parks in
Mumbai but Brihan Mumbai Mahanagar Palika maintains only 209 of them.
Per capita park space in Chennai is also low, at 0.41 sqm (recreational
green spaces maintained by the Chennai Corporation) which is less than
other metros. By that data, it should not come as a surprise that most
other cities, with the exception of Mumbai, have more green cover than
Chennai. While Chennai has green cover of 4.54%, it is 19% in Delhi,
6.8% in Bangalore and 9.48% in Hyderabad. Only 1.28% of bustling Mumbai
is canopied.
Environmentalists and residents in the city say the city needs more parks. They want the authorities to strictly implement the open space reservation (OSR) rules. According to the rules, a building that occupies more than 10,000 sqm are required to earmark 10% of the area as OSR land.
Former Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority chief planner G Dattatri says there are several vacant plots and OSR plots in the city. "It should not be difficult to develop more parks in the city," he said. "But the authorities should also allocate adequate funds for the maintenance of the parks." He says a lack of public spirit in Chennai has led to the deterioration of most of its parks.
Corporation sources said that the parks department faces a shortage of staff and is ill-equipped. "The construction and maintenance of parks is the responsibility of the zonal offices," said a senior corporation official in the civic body's parks department. "We are unable to monitor maintenance closely. A huge shortage of staff is also hampering work."
Environmentalists and residents in the city say the city needs more parks. They want the authorities to strictly implement the open space reservation (OSR) rules. According to the rules, a building that occupies more than 10,000 sqm are required to earmark 10% of the area as OSR land.
Former Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority chief planner G Dattatri says there are several vacant plots and OSR plots in the city. "It should not be difficult to develop more parks in the city," he said. "But the authorities should also allocate adequate funds for the maintenance of the parks." He says a lack of public spirit in Chennai has led to the deterioration of most of its parks.
Corporation sources said that the parks department faces a shortage of staff and is ill-equipped. "The construction and maintenance of parks is the responsibility of the zonal offices," said a senior corporation official in the civic body's parks department. "We are unable to monitor maintenance closely. A huge shortage of staff is also hampering work."
Another official said lack of a proper system to monitor park
maintenance has resulted in most green spaces in the city turning into
weed-infested dens for anti-social elements. He says zonal offices have
priority to certain wards and ignore others during the identification of
sites for the 100 new parks. Dattatri says the civic body should
strengthen its parks department. "If there are no officials to monitor
the parks, then the money they are allocated will be wasted," he said.
Chennaiites say the city needs more parks because it needs to increase its lung space. "I was shocked to see how many parks there are in Bangalore. In Chennai, on the other hand, it is hard to find a good park," said Roshan Vincent, a student.
Nice places to be, but why don't they remain open?
IT professional Ashok Kumar has always wanted to visit the corporation-owned Panagal Park in T Nagar, but is yet to do so. The timings of the park — 5am to 9am and 4pm to 9pm on working days and 5am to 9pm on holidays — are unsuitable for him.
Many are happy
with the Chennai Corporation's announcement of 100 new parks, but want
the timings of all parks extended. "There are many parks, but very few
use them because of the timings. We are not allowed to sit or walk there
after 9am, which is unfair," said Ashok. "When I wake up in the
morning, the park is closed. It is shut when I return from work. I am
unable to go to the park to read a book, particularly during power
cuts," he added.
Others said the 'unsuitable' timings forced them to visit shopping malls and theatres. "If these parks are opened for longer periods, we could save some money by reducing shopping or watching movies. It will also help us breathe some good air," said a city-based student.
When contacted, mayor Saidai S Duraisamy said: "I have received several petitions from the public to extend the timings of the parks. We will seriously consider this proposal and take necessary steps." Some residents said public participation was vital. Exnora International joint secretary R Govinda Raj said: "The civic body should consider involving the public in developing parks. If it extends the timings, more people will be attracted to these parks."
Lakshmi Vasudevan, a homemaker in Adyar, said: "Most parks in other metros function from 5am to 9pm. Here, they are closed by 8.30pm citing some silly reasons. Chennai is safer than many cities and steps should be taken to extend the timings of parks here. An adequate number of security guards should deployed in these parks."
Many people also wanted the corporation to improve maintenance at parks. Nadeshan G of Anna Nagar said parks were in a neglected state. Anantha Naryanan of Ambattur said: "The corporation park in Thiruvengadam near here is in a bad state and no action has been taken despite repeated complaints."
