The India Gate lawns that reopened to the public in September, after 20 months of redevelopment, are being temporarily closed in sections to give the grass a breather from the heavy footfall, Central Public Works Department (CPWD) officials said. In order to keep the grass that was planted alive, the CPWD has taken to cordoning off sections with rope and putting up “under maintenance” signs to keep visitors off the lawns for 15 days at a time, an official said. This intervention is only required on the two sections nearest to the India Gate due to the footfall — at the C-Hexagon and the section till Man Singh Road — the official said. With preparations for the Republic Day Parade set to begin soon, the official said it would be a challenge to retain the grass after the one-month period when it is covered by bleachers for the parade. The lawns along the Kartavya Path opened to the public on September 9, after the redeveloped stretch from India Gate to Vijay Chowk was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi the previous day. While barricades and security guards have been deployed to manage crowds, the stretch, earlier known as Rajpath, has seen large crowds, particularly on weekends, since reopening. Naturalist and author Pradip Krishen, who was asked for advice on the plantation plan by the project’s architects, HCP Design, Planning and Management, said he had suggested a different species of grass that could grow under the shade of the jamun trees there. “It’s tricky, with grass. It takes lots of water and nutrients, and a lot of intense labour to do the weeding, etc to create a perfect lawn. Further, the particular kind of grass that they use doesn’t grow in the shade. So what to do under the canopies of the rai-jamun trees? We discussed the possibility of moving away from the idea of an English lawn. We suggested a species of grass that could grow in the shade, and some other low-growing (prostrate) plants, like Volvulopsis and Oxalis, that do well in drier landscapes,” he said. But, this suggestion was met with resistance by the CPWD officials, he added. Nidhi Madan, a landscape architect and member of the Indian Society of Landscape Architects that had raised concerns with the Rajpath plan last year, said closing off public spaces was not the solution. "Central Vista is a democratic public open space with equitable access for one and all. This is represented in its visual and open space character and public use. Cordoning it off compromises this very idea. A landscape management plan needs to be put in place keeping this in mind," she said.
