BCC to develop 100 more parks

BCC to develop 100 more parks
The BCC in the last two years has developed 158 parks in the city. This year, it is planning to take up another 100.
The Times of India

The agenda of restoring and developing parks in the city has found a prominent place in Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) projects for the city this year. To ensure that the green cover and lung spaces are intact, the BCC will develop 100 parks in the city at a cost of Rs 10 crores.
The city boasts of 630 parks in different localities and much of the credit goes to the huge manpower in terms of gardeners the city has had and interest evinced by the city planners in making this city. The BCC is in the process of developing all the 630 parks dotted around the city and is taking up substantial number of parks year after year. Till now the Corporation has developed around 158 parks.

A senior horticulture officer of the BCC said, "we have identified around 100 parks for development across the three zones of the city at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crores under the Janaudyana Vana scheme. 58 parks in the west zone, 22 parks in the south zone, and 20 parks in east zone will wear a new look this year. We will be primarily focusing on improving four aspects of parks - landscapes (including terrain and flora), cascades and fountains, pathways and jogging tracks, and their management".

The BCC is also planning to let some parks out for development under the public-private participation (PPP) programme. Residents' associations breathed life into some parks - Sadashivanagar Park, Lakshmidevi Park in Koramangala, Richards Town Park, and the Chandra Layout Park. Under the scheme, the associations will have to present a proposal on the development of the park in their area and the ways and means of maintaining them. Once the BCC comes out with the feasibility report, the parks will be handed over on an annual contract.

The BCC took on numerous projects to develop huge parks and boulevards in the city in the recent years. While work on the Bugle Rock Park is on, development of the Laxman Rau Boulevard at a cost of Rs 1 crore is over, and the restoration of the M N Krishna Rao Park that measures around 96,096 sqmts was widely appreciated by the residents of Basavanagudi. This park was given a complete facelift at a cost of Rs 2.44 crores.

Last year, to mention a few, the BCC developed parks in Hanumanthanagar, Jayanagar, J P Nagar, Indiranagar, Vijayanagar, Frazer Town, R T Nagar, Banaswadi, and Kalyan Nagar under the Ja n a u dya n a Vana scheme. The objective was to develop one park in each of the 100 wards of the city. The civic agency had hired several consultants to prepare detailed project reports for each park depending on its location and requirements. Around Rs 10 lakhs has been pumped into developing each park.

Some of the parks the BCC plans to develop this year are the ones at Vijayanagar, Basaveshwaranagar, Mahalaxmi Layout, Ulsoor, and Thippasandra.