Reports on parks misleading, amicus tells HC

G Rohini and Justice R S Endlaw said after it was informed that civic agencies had submitted “misleading and false” reports of the maintenance in parks, and that nothing had actually been done to improve the condition at parks in the capital.

The High Court had taken up the issue after a complaint was sent by a sitting Supreme Court Judge. The Judge, who had gone to the Children’s Park at India Gate, had complained about the park’s dilapidated condition.

The court had directed all civic agencies to file a report on the status of parks in their areas and had appointed senior advocate Nidhesh Gupta as amicus curiae to look into the issue. On Wednesday, Gupta filed a report before the court alleging that the status reports submitted by Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi Municipal Council and the municipal corporations were “misleading”.

While the civic bodies had submitted photographs with their reports to prove that the parks were being maintained, Gupta told the court that the photographs were “misleading” as they were taken from a distance or from angles to “hide the damaged areas”.

During the hearing on Wednesday, Gupta submitted pictures submitted by the DDA and those taken by his team — which had visited 15 parks — to point out that the play areas continued to be in poor condition.

The amicus curiae had visited 15 parks in Dwarka, Sarojini Nagar, Moti Bagh and Shanti Niketan areas and found that the swings, slides and other equipment there were in dilapidated condition. He told the court that at some parks, the swings were missing from the frames and the slides were broken and rusted.

The court has now directed the DDA counsel to ensure that the parks are maintained in a proper manner.