Shera Maidans planned to give sports a boost

The parks will bear the emblem of CWG mascot Shera and a pictorial logo of the NDMC.

To keep the legacy of Delhi’s showcase sporting event alive,Sports Minister Ajay Maken had last week announced the formation of a committee of spokespersons to suggest ways for utilisation of the sporting infrastructure created by the Sports Authority of India for the Games. Based on a pilot project taken up by the NDMC at Raja Bazar in November last year,the civic agency had sent a proposal to the Ministry to develop 100 parks in this way.

“The Sports Ministry has sanctioned the development of 78 parks out of the 100. Of these,67 parks are less than 2,000 square metres in area,while 11 are between 2,000 and 4,000 square metres,” an official of the NDMC told Newsline.

The Rs 2-crore project will be executed and funded jointly by the Ministry and the NDMC.

A pilot project was taken up at a one-acre park in a government colony in Raja Bazar near Gole Market last November. With volleyball courts,changing rooms,and play equipment for children,the NDMC made this pilot project the basis of its proposal to the Ministry.

“Along with the basic greenery,these parks will have three essentials: infrastructure to support one sport,changing rooms,and minimum infrastructure,like swings,for kids to play,” the official said.

Going a step ahead,the civic body has also constituted its own NDMC Play Field Association,on the lines of the National Play Fields Association. “The idea behind this initiative is the need to protect the Commonwealth Games legacy. Also,there is the realisation that the colony-level parks are being increasingly encroached on and there are very few open playfields,” the official added.

With the Ministry sanction in on Monday,the NDMC will start the project next month.