The thick vegetation of sprouts below the AIIMS flyover,those steely domes of modern art perched on slender shafts,will be made sparse,if a government proposal comes through. The idea,government sources said,is to diminish the prominence of the structures in that busy traffic hub since the light reflected from them distract motorists. Some of the smaller sprouts will be weeded out,they said,while the stark forms of the rest could be subdued by vegetation at the base. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit visited the spot on Monday morning,along with a panel of horticulture experts. Dikshit had asked a fortnight ago to check if a clump of lemon grass planted below the sprouts might make them more amenable to the eye. Mondays exercise was to finalise the look somewhat. Some of the smaller sprouts will be pulled out though nothing is final at present,said K K Sharma,Principal Secretary,the Public Works Department (PWD). But there is a proposal to make it a little sparse. An officer from the department said policemen had also complained that the sprouts distract drivers. Former Director of Horticulture,officers from the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Indian Forest Services accompanied Dikshit on Monday morning. The team of consultants will present a report to her soon. Called Sprouts,the government had paid Rs 3 crore to Jindal Steels for the project an enterprise to find a symbol of emerging India that would mark the countrys 60th Independence Day. The original plan also envisaged illuminating them at night. Alumni of the National Institute of Design Vibhor Sognani designed the look. The government pays for the maintenance Rs 1.5 lakh per month. The installation came up on the 6 acres of land below the flyover,divided into green mounds. One has eight 40-feet-high sprouts on it,while the others have many more smaller sprouts. The story of the sprouts has not been smooth sailing at all. The Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) was not too happy with the original design. It was initially presented to DUAC in February,2008. The matter was deferred to a sub-committee and again came up for discussion on August 26,2008. Since no one from the PWD was present at this meeting,a decision on the design could not be taken. DUAC objected vehemently in December that year when it learnt that the PWD had already given the go-ahead and that 90 per cent of the work was complete. Designer saysI am out of station and,therefore,could not be there during the chief ministers visit. The design is still evolving and is at a crucial stage. Lemon grass was planted under one sprout on Monday to see how it looked. Vibhor Sognani
