Parks of Noida

If there’s one thing we can be grateful for whilst living in Noida, it is to the town planners for the generous tracts of land that they have allocated as open spaces. Commonly referred to by the generic term ‘parks’, such open areas consist of neighbourhood parks, playgrounds & sporting grounds, recreational parks, city forests, bio diversity parks and memorials.

Noida Authority in the master plan for 2031 has envisaged the following types of parks: Recreational Greens, Parks and Play Grounds, & Green Belts with almost all sectors having a provision of 10-12% for such usage. Presently existing at an institutional level is the sports complex in sector21A, Golf Course in sector 38 and the Botanical Garden in sector 38A.

Although large chunks of land have been left for such usage, as a city, their development leaves much to be desired and remains a study in contrast between the excellent and the ugly. Take for instance the Shaheed Smark in Sector 29, which is a war memorial dedicated to the memory of our brave countrymen who laid down their lives whilst defending the nation. Extremely well maintained and in pristine condition, this memorial carries the hallmark of an Army institution, all spit and polish in place. The memorial itself is a mark of respect, and true to the spirit of a memorial a strict code of conduct is maintained over the decorum of visitors, so as to maintain the sombre spirit of a memorial. An picturesque walking track, with excellent flora and fauna, benches dotting the walking track, and subdued lighting makes it a pleasure to visit this Smarak, and pause a while to think about our departed heroes.

Another memorial, the Dalit pride park or the Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal, a project of the former CM of Uttar Pradesh, unfortunately evokes no such emotion. Created by clearing 84 acres of pristine forest land, felling 6000 trees, the gargantuan structure raised here replicating Victoria Memorial of Kolkata, remains the nemesis of this city.

A few hundred yards away from the Shaheed Smark of Sector 29, is one of the best located parks of the area in Sector 30, commonly known as the C block park of Sector 30. By contrast to the Sector 29 Smarak, this neighbourhood park is no man’s land, remains bereft of vegetation, brown, dusty and dirty. Forsaken by the community that resides around it, and apathetic maintenance by the Noida Authority, this park is open season to all and sundry for any and all activity. During the day hanger ons and vagabonds, in the early evening boys from other sectors playing cricket and football on grass that’s meant to be a lawn, in the evening children with more ayas than children, and later evening, a den for drinking and romantic liaisons.

Moving to Sector 40, an abundance of open area, with land allocated for play fields such as cricket and football, but nary a sign of a pitch or a goalpost. Lost and forlorn with overgrown grass these huge patches of land lie in disuse. The other parks in this sector too, carry the same trademark in addition to the colony’s garbage being dumped on the roads outside the parks.

 

Most sectors have strips of green belts contiguous to the residential areas, creating a green buffer between the sectors and noisy roads; but the concept of a city forest is by far the most interesting. Sector 54 is one such area, a man made forest, comprising of 70 hectares of land. This forest provides the carbon dioxide exchange we so desperately require to purify our city’s ever increasing polluted air. In nearby Sector 62, the D park ( so named because its shape replicates the alphabet D) of comprising of 19 acres of land, has been planned as a leisure park, but has yet to take off and carries the trademark of other parks, forlorn and abandoned.

Needless to say the town planners have done their job, i.e. allocating the scarce resource of land for  purposes of ‘parks’, so why have we not been able to realize its true potential? Why is it that the Shaheed Smarak is an example of excellence, and the sector parks, the ultimate in neglect?

The most obvious and apparent reason is the lack of ownership (not physical) i.e. in the planning and upkeep & maintenance of such community resources. History is replete with examples of how resources such as water which once belonged to the community, was used with utmost care. Once it became a resource delivered through the tap, with no idea from where it came and how scarce it is, the community factor was lost, and thereby treated as the government’s responsibility to deliver it to the consumers. Similarly, community facilities such as parks are being managed by local governing bodies, who take decisions and do deeds without the consent of community it is meant for, thereby making the facility  no one’s baby.

The essence is to empower the community to maintain and develop common facilities mean for them. If they do it well they enjoy the fruits of their involvement, and done poorly, they have no one to blame but themselves.

To achieve such an end, the RWA of sectors have to take initiative, and involve residents to devote their energies toward the developmental needs of the area they reside in. Unfortunately RWA’s are just not focused on such matters, their office bearers intoxicated in the pomposity of their status have absolved themselves of leadership and responsibility on such ‘mundane issues’ as parks, thereby leaving the residents to fend for themselves.

It is obvious, if we want a quantum improvement in the beautification and upkeep of our parks, like minded residents will have to create work-groups to carry this work forward. In the first instance, the community will have to acquire rights from the Noida Authority to maintain their parks. This would then have to be followed up with the horticulture department, which runs plant nurseries in various sectors, to acquire planting stock for such an exercise. A visit to these nurseries found them barren and empty, and we couldn't get a single shade tree sapling to plant. Thus, to mitigate dependence on any governmental agency, residents can chip in and buy plants from private nurseries, and also receive plants from residents who have abundance in their homes.

Beyond all the official paperwork, planting of trees, perennials, shrubs & flowers should be events encompassing all, from young to old, from 8 to 80, in a carnival like atmosphere, together with tea and snacks to give a community sense to the whole exercise. It’s important to guard against the work being just handed out to the ‘malis’, as that would defeat the purpose of the residents being directly involved.

Whilst it may be easier to get residential sectors motivated for such community upkeep, the larger issue is of greening the city. An enormous amount of land is owned by schools and institutions, either as play fields or just vacant land for expansion. The challenge would be to get them to use their boundaries and vacant areas for afforestation. This would serve a dual purpose, educating the children in greening, and building up a tree bank on their premises. An example of good horticulture is DPS School in Sector 30, which has an expansive garden, lush, green & well laid out. Innovative ways and means will have to be found to motivate institutions, group housing societies and other such bodies to do similar deeds.

Whilst our parks languish in apathy and neglect, waiting for ‘the next person’ to take the first move, the ageing trees and barren parks of Noida urgently need support. These trees, unable to meet the demand of purifying the air, are dying a slow death, and urgent afforestation efforts are needed to save them, our parks, our city and ultimately our health from a downward spiral.

rajeevsuri.cbms@gmail.com