MCD Panel Approves Plan Allowing RWAs To Maintain 15,000 Delhi Parks

The standing committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has cleared a proposal permitting Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to adopt and manage parks across the city. The initiative, set to roll out under the 2026–27 budget, aims to improve upkeep through community participation.

Delhi has nearly 15,000 parks spread over approximately 5,200 acres under the MCD’s jurisdiction. According to the proposal, the civic body’s horticulture department has struggled to maintain these green spaces due to a shortage of gardeners. Under a public-private partnership (PPP) framework, the MCD will provide maintenance funding of ₹13,500 per park to participating RWAs.

Once an RWA adopts a park, it will oversee tasks such as weeding, pruning, waste clearance, fertiliser use, hedge trimming, landscaping, beautification, and overall cleanliness. Plantation work and painting of gates and grills will also fall under their purview, subject to approval from the horticulture department.

However, RWAs will not be allowed to use parks for commercial activities, make permanent structural alterations, or restrict public entry. The MCD will continue to maintain existing infrastructure, including gates, lighting, open gym installations, and children’s play areas. It will also bear water and electricity expenses, collect green waste, and supply compost where available.

Only RWAs registered under the Societies Act for a minimum of three years will be eligible to apply. Applicants must submit details of activities carried out in the previous year. Associations may adopt more than one park, but only within their respective localities. All standing committee approvals will be forwarded to the House for final clearance before execution.

On the same day, the committee approved revised proposals for the third phase of bio-mining at the Okhla, Ghazipur, and Bhalswa landfill sites. In line with Solid Waste Management Rules 2026, the updated tenders cover legacy waste, garbage dumped from March 2025 onward, and fresh waste until July — the deadline set for clearing the city’s landfills.

The panel also directed immediate implementation of budget schemes that do not require tendering. These include the “One Road-One Day” sanitation drive, annual licensing of weekly markets, formation of a pollution control group, establishment of material recovery centres for waste segregation, and Triveni plantation — a practice of planting banyan, neem, and peepal trees together — on vacant municipal land.

Additional measures include developing herbal parks, granting property tax exemptions for rural residential plots up to 200 square metres, organising health check-ups and yoga sessions for MCD school students, setting up dedicated medical service windows for councillors and staff in municipal hospitals, issuing a circular for Municipal Foundation Day, and creating a media room at the Civic Centre.

The committee also reviewed stray animal management issues and decided to approach the Delhi government to seek land for gaushalas. Officials have been asked to submit a report on the status of operational, closed, and merged municipal schools.