NEW DELHI: Delhi’s local parks are falling into disrepair, with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) across the city reporting a severe shortage of maintenance funds. This situation has particularly impacted children and senior citizens, who are now left with few spaces for recreation and exercise.
Many RWAs have been compelled to take out loans and divert funds from other essential maintenance activities to sustain their community parks. Despite these efforts, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has failed to provide the promised financial assistance for nearly five years, leaving these associations in a dire financial state.
Facing a severe cash crunch, the MCD owes approximately Rs 8 crore to various RWAs under a public-private partnership scheme to encourage community participation in park maintenance. Of this, Rs 2 crore is pending in the Rohini, Keshavpuram, and Narela zones alone. RWAs struggle to manage their parks under challenging circumstances, finding it difficult to pay their gardeners.
The partnership scheme involves 1,315 registered residents’ associations, most of whom have yet to receive payments for at least two years. The scheme stipulates that the MCD must pay Rs 31,500 per month per acre to the RWAs maintaining the parks. However, the prolonged delay in payments has left residents uncertain about whether to continue their contracts or relinquish park maintenance altogether. Some RWAs have recently received payments for the period up to December 2023, but the delay has already significantly impacted the quality of park upkeep.
Meanwhile, residents are increasingly frustrated with the MCD’s lack of resources, including the personnel and equipment needed for basic park maintenance tasks such as waste removal and grass mowing. This has left RWAs to bear the financial burden alone.
Feel unsafe as parks are now gambling den with people playing cards’
In an interview with Ravinder Singh Chhachhi, President of the West Azad Nagar Resident Welfare Association, Prabhat Shukla tries to find out the challenges and possible solutions.
Excerpts
How many parks does your locality have? Are they in decent condition?
There is just one small park in our entire locality, and it is not maintained. There is no grass to speak of and no gardener for its upkeep. Swings and exercise equipment are unusable, and even the jogging track is broken. Trees and electric poles have fallen over, and the park is littered with rubbish. It is now home to a major infestation of rodents who have dug burrows all over the park.
Are there any other safety concerns with the park?
Safety is a major issue, and I believe the park is no longer safe for women and children. A group of 50–60 outsiders, mostly older men, have turned it into a gambling den. We no longer send our children there as these men routinely use foul language. We have tried to resolve the issue amicably but to no avail. Besides, the park has also become a hub for drunkards who take over after 9 pm.
Do the parks receive adequate funding?
Even though the park falls within our RWA, we do not control the funds for it. It has been ‘adopted’ by a neighbouring RWA, which has diverted the funds meant for maintenance towards some other project. It is quite clear that the funds have been misused. We have complained to the local councillor about the issue, but nothing has been done yet. In such a scenario, it is impossible to keep the parks in good shape.