A ‘waste to wonder’ park for the G20 summit with a display of national animals of participating countries, beautification and illumination of roads and flyovers, ‘art to heart’ themed sculptures, and planting exotic flowers are among key initiatives and proposals presented by the New Delhi Municipal Council in its budget 2023-24. Ahead of the G20 summit, the NDMC, under whose jurisdiction the Lutyens’ zones and affluent areas in New Delhi fall, presented a budget with a surplus of Rs 224.98 crore in the current financial year 2022-23, and Rs 583.29 crore for the next financial year, against Rs 178.95 crore surplus projected in its estimates of 2022-23. A special council meeting was held after the budget presentations by Amit Yadav, chairman of NDMC, which was attended by Vikram Malik, secretary, NDMC; Satish Upadhyay, vice-chairman; Virender Singh Kadian, MLA; and other council members. “The prospects for the ensuing financial year are more promising and the NDMC is all set for a stronger growth path and move ahead with a firm resolve to make the council the national pride and a global benchmark,” said the NDMC chairman while presenting the annual budget. “The coming financial year is going to be special with the presidency of G20 in India under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. The NDMC is taking up a comprehensive beautification of flyovers and roundabouts dotted with sculptures by eminent artists, reflecting our art consciousness,” said the chairman. Besides the G20 park, the NDMC also proposed to host a food festival with cuisines of all participating countries. “The park will display national animals of all participating countries based on a waste-to-wonder theme. We are committed to working hand in hand with other municipal bodies of Delhi and the state and central governments. This budget will reflect our resolve to ensure ease of living for our citizens, adopt ‘lifestyle for environment’ (LiFE), ensure the cleanliness of the city and encourage citizens to partake in the events,” said the NDMC official. The NDMC will focus on digitisation, e-governance and connecting CCTVs on Kartavya Path with the integrated command and control centre (ICCC), and it has also proposed a 360-degree cyber security audit of its network as well as applications ahead of the summit. About 12 avenue roads will be resurfaced and ‘happiness areas’ and national flags will come up on major flyovers. The council has further proposed launching a ‘mobile Ayush dispensary’ for old age homes and at the doorstep of NDMC schools on a rotation basis, and a 50-bedded Ayush hospital with a research centre in collaboration with the Ministry of AYUSH. Officials said the layout plan has already been approved. Extension of tablet scheme to class 9-12 students and bagless pre-primary and primary classrooms in all Navyug schools are also in the pipeline. Officials said the NDMC is taking steps to implement accrual-based budgeting, a first in the country.
