North corporation to redevelop two historical gardens and Naini Lake

A long-pending plan to redevelop two historical sites--Qudsia Garden and Roshanara Bagh --and Naini Lake is gathering momentum with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation preparing a proposal for the revamp.

The two Mughal-era gardens will be developed with funding from the tourism and culture ministry. The decision was taken after Union tourism minister Dr Mahesh Sharma and minister of science and technology Dr Harsh Vardhan visited the sites in January.

“At Roshanara Garden, we plan to repair the boundary wall, revive the lake (spread over six acres), realign the pathway and install fountains. A cafeteria, a children’s corner and garbage recycling units are also in the pipeline,” said a senior official, North DMC.

The garden is spread over 57.29 acres and one of the biggest in Delhi.

Likewise, at Qudsia Bagh, the civic agency plans to develop a food plaza and lease it to a private operator. “The amount collected would be utilized for regular maintenance of the place. The horticulture department will plan some decorative trees to attract tourists,” said senior official from the engineering department, North DMC.

The official said the Union ministry had initially decided to sanction funds to Delhi Tourism, Delhi government.

“But we wrote to the assistant director, ministry of tourism, last month and clarified that the sites belong to the North DMC and the funds should be released to us,” said the official.

The tourism ministry will allocate Rs 10 crore and Rs 4 crore for Roshanara Bagh and Qudsia Bagh, respectively, sources said.

Apart from these two structures, the municipal corporation has decided to spend R 1 crore for the redevelopment of Naini lake.

“Though a detail project report has been prepared, we will take the help of consultants to ensure everything is implemented in a proper manner. The project includes increasing the depth of lake up to 20 feet so that boating can be taken up in future. There is also a plan to install some fancy lights,” said PK Gupta, commissioner, North DMC.