MCD plans to outsource maintenance of all municipal parks in Karol Bagh

MCD’s horticulture department maintains 15,226 parks, which cover an area of 5,172.07 acres (1 acre = 4,047 square metre). Most of the parks, around 90%, are categorised as “housing area parks”

New Delhi

A view of a park in south Delhi. (Representative photo/HT Archive)

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), in a pilot project, will outsource the maintenance of municipal parks to private concessionaires to improve their upkeep, senior civic officials said on Wednesday. The pilot is expected to be undertaken in the Karol Bagh zone, which has 762 parks.

A senior MCD official said the horticulture department has prepared a project report for outsourcing maintenance work in the Karol Bagh zone, which will entail upkeep, pruning, waste removal and maintenance of greenery.

“Waste management in all zones is already being carried out by the sanitation department through private concessionaires. We are working on outsourcing park maintenance in Karol Bagh to a specialised agency. It is likely to cost around ₹5 crore every year. If the project is successful, we may extend it to other zones,” the official, not wishing to be named, said.

MCD’s horticulture department maintains 15,226 parks, which cover an area of 5,172.07 acres (1 acre = 4,047 square metre). Most of the parks, around 90%, are categorised as “housing area parks” (HAP) having an area smaller than 5,000 square metre (sqm). These parks, besides acting as a green lung for Delhi, also provide space for residents to exercise and participate in recreational activities.

An MCD spokesperson said outsourcing the work to expert agencies is expected to make park management economically cheaper. “We are expecting it to ensure better upkeep of parks. It will help in resolving citizen complaints about park maintenance more promptly. All the work being carried out the by the agency will be supervised by the zonal officer,” the spokesperson said.

The senior MCD official cited above said that of 762 parks in Karol Bagh, 42 larger parks have an area of more than 4,047sqm, 119 parks have an area of 2,023.5sqm to 4,047sqm, and the remaining have a smaller area.

Last year, HT reported that the corporation was grappling with a shortage of gardeners, citing an MCD report that said almost one of two gardener posts (56%) were vacant as of September 2023. There are 7,872 sanctioned gardener posts, but only 3,446 were hired, with the situation dire in north and east Delhi. Karol Bagh zone, the report said, had two vehicles and 120 gardeners to manage parks.

A second civic official said that the department hires multi-task staff (MTS) to meet the shortfall of gardeners. “The civic body periodically hires MTS workers to carry out this work. By outsourcing the maintenance work, the accountability of the agency can be fixed in a better manner,” the official said.