Editorial: Parks and recreation

Chennai has grown leaps and bounds over the past few decades, in terms of urbanisation, but still falls short in matters of providing a commensurate quantum of high quality and functional green ecosystems to its public.

Earlier this year, it was reported that the distribution of public parks in Chennai was highly skewed. The division-wise spread of parks in the city’s Corporation limits is marked by a complete absence of parks in some divisions while one division even has 38 parks under it.

A total of 702 parks including roadside parks and Open Space Reservation (OSR) parks are divided among the 200 divisions of the Corporation. Of these, the North has about 143 parks, while the Central has 234 parks and the South boasts of a maximum of 325 parks. For the Corporation, the setting up of parks depends on the availability of OSR lands and requests from residents of a region.

The absence of adequate parks in many regions is felt acutely by its residents. Issues pertaining to their maintenance are also a pain point. 

Such negligence of a fundamental aspect of urban life was thrown into sharp relief last week when the Corporation levied a fine of Rs 7.67 lakh on private contractors, for poor maintenance of parks across 15 zones. 

Issues concerning the maintenance of the park involving regular watering, pruning of plants, and problems regarding personnel such as the absence of watchmen during duty hours and shortfall of labour, were the areas on which the park contractors were probed. 

The Corporation Commissioner had pulled up the contractors based on the reports filed by the zonal officials.

Citizens who assumed that privatisation was the answer to all their civic woes might have another thing coming. Of the 700-odd parks in the city, 542 have been outsourced to private contractors for maintenance. The contractors who had been responsible for maintaining parks in zones such as Tondiarpet, Kodambakkam and Valasaravakkam made up for the bulk of the defaulters with the former violating the terms of the tender by employing a lesser number of staffers than required. Corporation officials have said that if things do not change for the better, they will terminate the contracts of these private parties.

There are challenges that plague our approach towards building settlements around green spaces as opposed to building over them. Take for instance, the Thiru Vi Ka Park in Shenoy Nagar which had been closed down for over a decade, thanks to the construction of the Chennai Metro Rail. The park had around 300 trees of which 130 were axed as part of the construction. Nehru Park, which was also taken over temporarily for Metro work witnessed the felling of 65 trees.

Environmental stakeholders have pointed out that for a city the size of Chennai, there needs to be a proportionate number of green zones that can act as the lungs of the metropolis. Take for instance, New Delhi, which has about 18,000 parks spread over 8,000 hectares; or for that matter Chennai’s sister city, Bengaluru, which is also referred to as Garden City — which has 1,247 parks.

The Tamil Nadu government is taking an interest in providing Chennai with spaces where citizens can breathe easily. Last week, Chief Minister MK Stalin visited the Tholkappia Poonga (Adyar Eco Park) and reviewed its restoration work. 

The park had recently opened its gates to those keen on utilising its green spaces for their morning and evening walks. 

The government had in fact approved the park’s proposal to allow citizens to use these grounds for their fitness routines, and entry passes are also being issued for a nominal fee. 

The inauguration of a 2.5-acre ecological park in Pallikaranai marsh, has also come as a relief for birdwatchers and nature lovers. At a time, when cities globally are choking under the weight of pollutants, the need to incorporate free for public use, ecologically-rich spaces cannot be overemphasised.