Rajpath to be turned into boulevard; to get fountains, parking space

Rajpath will soon wear a new look. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had two rounds of meeting with Union ministry of housing and urban affairs in past one-and-ahalf months to finalise a plan to transform Rajpath into a boulevard.

The redevelopment plan included rejuvenation of water channel, installation of fountains, redevelopment of water bodies, building a parking facility for 1,000 vehicles, kiosks, water dispensers and other utilities.

Sharing details of the project in the 2019-20 budget presentation, NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar said, “Rajpath is the centre of attraction in the city and everyday thousands of people visit the area. We aim to give a modern look to the place. Though the CPWD is the maintenance agency for lawns around India Gate, we proposed the idea to the MOUA secretary Durga Shanker Mishra few months back to redevelop the area. After that, we had two rounds of meeting with officials.”

“Now, we have been asked to submit a detailed plan for the project. Besides, there is also plan to develop C-hexagon and Shantipath as a part of our efforts to develop world class public places,” he said.

The NDMC also proposed introduction of fibre optics cable television services, so people won’t have to buy set top boxes, which will reduce monthly cable bills. In next week, the facility will become operational in Connaught Place area on a pilot basis.

Second generation of trees

NDMC chairman said the civic agency will be raising a “second generation” of trees, which could replace the nearly century-old “heritage trees” — mainly neem and pilkhan — on the verge of collapse in Lutyens’ Delhi. Most heritage trees were planted nearly a century ago.

Several old trees have been indentified in NDMC areas which may fall in the next 10-15 years, therefore a second generation (of similar varieties) of plants are planned to be grown at a 25-acre land near Yamuna Bank, officials said.

Digitisation drive

Working on the concept of digitalising all public services, NDMC proposes to open digital public art gallery at Children’s Park, India Gate, four common service centres to facilitate government services at one place and integrating online health license system with Delhi Police and Delhi Fire Services records to simplify process for holding public events.

“Under public art gallery initiative, platform would be created to promote students to showcase various art forms digitally such as photography, paintings, installations, video art and graphics,” said senior NDMC official.