Lakhs spent on public park go down the drain
Welcome to the one-acre public park at Phase 6 of the Focal Point, where authorities have spent approximately Rs 45 lakh in the name of maintenance. Not a single sapling has been planted here. Instead, wild grass has taken over. The industrialists lament that despite sending a large amount of public money down the drain, the park was never maintained.
Pankaj Sharma, president of the Association of Trade and Industrial Undertakings (ATIU), said the civic authorities spent a lot of money on the park, installing grills but failed to plant any saplings.
The wild grass and weeds infiltrated during the rainy days, and it now shouts of neglect.
“It is not the lone park that is neglected,” Sharma lamented.
There are some 35-40 large and small public parks peppered around the Focal Points, and the majority are in a poor state.
ATIU members, including senior vice-president Anil Sachdeva, vice-president Sanjiv Gupta, Sanjay Gupta, and others, said the association was working to maintain these parks and that after more than 15 years of effort, the association was able to get the MC to approve its ‘Park Project’.
“Due to the civic body’s negligence, these parks have become a safe haven for addicts and antisocial elements. We have been requesting the MC to plant trees and turn over the park to the association for upkeep, but to no avail. The MC could have just enabled a mini jungle to grow on the vacant land for free!” an association member said.
