Fountains, art, lit-up trees: Delhi civic body’s G20 revamp plan

The horticulture department of the municipal corporation will anchor the art installation project. The department will also develop water fountains in major parks.

As part of several beautification and maintenance projects Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is working on in the run-up to G-20 meetings in the Capital, the civic body has now decided to initiate the makeover of various public spaces under its jurisdiction. The agency will install art at major intersections, develop water fountains in major parks and plant flower beds along arterial routes leading to major markets and places of historical importance, a senior municipal official said on Wednesday.

The civic body will also carry out road improvement and beautification works on roads leading towards Sunder Nursery, Tughlakabad Shooting Range, Qutub Minar, internal market road in Lajpat Nagar, Greater Kailash-I, Greater Kailash-II, South Extension market and Defence Colony market. (AP)

“We will put up 55 art installations at important intersections, key markets and historical places. In the past, the civic body has installed art objects made with scrap items at various intersections,” the senior official said, asking not to be named.

The horticulture department of the corporation will anchor the art installation project. The department will also develop water fountains in major parks. “MCD has identified locations to install water fountains in Qutub Park, near PVR Saket, Greater Kailash-2 M-block market, Waste to Wonder Park, Bharat Darshan Park, Shaheedi Park in ITO and Ajmal Khan Park. A large musical fountain in Ajmal Khan Park has been defunct for several years and it will be revived,” the official added.

The civic body will also carry out road improvement and beautification works on roads leading towards Sunder Nursery, Tughlakabad Shooting Range, Qutub Minar, internal market road in Lajpat Nagar, Greater Kailash-I, Greater Kailash-II, South Extension market and Defence Colony market, a second official added. “Ahead of the G-20 summit, the stretches will be beautified by planting flower beds and placing flower pots on the roadside,” the MCD official added.

Delhi will host eight G-20 events beginning March 1, 2023, when the G-20 foreign ministers will meet in the city, and culminating on September 9-10, 2023, with the summit meeting of heads of governments and states. The list of events that will be hosted in the national capital includes Parliament-20 summit on June 5-6; 4th sherpa meeting on September 306, 4th Finance and Central Bank deputies meeting on September 5-6, joint sherpas and finance deputies meeting on September 6, joint finance and energy deputies meeting on September 7 and joint finance and energy ministers’ meeting on September 8, 2023.

The civic body will also illuminate trees near Waste to Wonder Park at Sarai Kale Khan, Bharat Darshan Park at Punjabi Bagh and Shaheedi Park, ITO, as well as major markets. Earlier, the New Delhi Municipal Council had also announced that it will illuminate trees on major stretches showcasing “Make In India” lights. The council will also illuminate the two major flyovers that act as entry points to New Delhi.

A civic official from the maintenance department said the department has accelerated its work on giving parks, roads, walkways, and central verges a makeover in preparation for the G20 summit. “We will also be covering of drain and replacement of broken slab, develop modern kiosks,” he added. Since six out of the eight meetings will be held around monsoon season, the department has been asked to take permanent measures to prevent water logging. In June this year, Delhi traffic police had earmarked 211 areas vulnerable to water logging points in the monsoon.

Municipal commissioner Gyanesh Bharti said that hosting a G-20 summit is a matter of great pride for the country. “We have directed all departments to complete the beatification work in the given timeframe. We have instructed officers to ensure that public toilets and roads are cleaned daily. The corporation will also remove encroachments on public land,” Bharti said.