DDA to bring in experts for designing parks, green areas

New Delhi, Sept 1 (PTI) To better manage and upgrade its parks and future green spaces, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is planning on hiring landscape architecture firms to provide professional services, officials said on Monday.

Under the project, the design for upcoming green spaces and parks and recreational spots, such as Banseera along the Yamuna river, will be planned and upgraded by the firm; till now, this work was done in-house by the authority.

"The empanelled landscape architects or firms will be responsible for designing and redeveloping plazas and public open spaces and suggesting sustainable growth of parks," an official said.

The DDA also plans to interconnect all its existing and upcoming parks along the Yamuna floodplain.

Over the past two years, several recreational spaces have come up on the Yamuna floodplain, which includes parks and cafes, all developed by DDA along the 22-kilometre stretch of the river starting from Wazirabad barrage and ending at Okhla barrage.

The projects developed by the DDA are Asita East and West and Kalindi Aviral, which include Baansera Park, Vasudev Ghat, Amrut Biodiversity Park, and Yamuna Vatika near Rajghat, that have already been developed in a combined area of 740 hectares, officials said.

"Designing floodplain projects, wetland parks, and biodiversity parks will be one of the many requirements for the architect. DDA seeks to infuse upcoming projects with diverse design sensibilities, technical expertise, and innovative approaches to landscape planning," the tender issued by DDA said.

Several of the parks developed by the DDA are now available for cultural programming and artistic events, fostering social engagement while supporting self-sustaining models of urban green space, the official added.

The DDA has developed over 16,000 acres of green cover, which includes seven biodiversity parks, 11 major ecological restoration projects along the Yamuna floodplains, and over 773 urban parks. PTI SSM SSM MPL MPL