New Delhi: To improve security in its parks, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has directed senior officials of its horticulture department to conduct safety checks at intervals of one week to 15 days.The corporation has also initiated a comprehensive audit and provided its officials with a field inspection proforma to be filled in within a week, recording the latest condition of the parks and covering 15 categories of safety parameters.These steps are being taken based on directions of LG T S Sandhu. Work on some areas has started, MCD officials said.The measures to be taken include checking illumination, obstruction of visibility due to vegetation, presence of abandoned or unused structures, condition of boundary walls and entrances, uncontrolled entry points, lighting at toilets and approaches, dark or blind spots and thick bushes that could conceal a person.Ground staff and officials have been asked to check safety measures in children’s play areas and parking spaces, deployment of security personnel, unauthorised gatherings or activities, whether a park is deserted, whether incidents of snatching, fight and harassment take place, and vulnerabilities arising from surrounding areas.“We have found recurring issues plaguing the parks. Once the survey is completed, preventive measures will be planned. Meanwhile, directions have been given to officials for pruning bushes and hedges, removing green waste, repairing boundaries and entrance gates as a priority and coordinating with other departments for proper lighting,” said an official.MCD has also readied a proposal for installing CCTV cameras at prominent points in 1,000 parks, deploying at least two security guards in each, putting up boards displaying contact details of officials, and coordinating with Delhi Police for regular patrolling. The proposal will be sent to Delhi govt, which will examine its feasibility.“Installing CCTV cameras is not a challenge, but their operation and maintenance are. We need proper logistics and a system for recording the feed. We also need to determine the role of RWAs, some of which may be interested in accessing the parks or taking responsibility for their maintenance. In some cases, RWAs may have already installed cameras facing the entrances of parks as a deterrent,” the official said.The project will require a dedicated budget allocation. The corporation has more than 15,000 parks, of which around 15% to 20% are small. Security guards are currently deployed at only 43 parks spread over two acres or more.MCD maintains that most of its parks are in residential areas and surrounded by houses, thereby reducing the need for guards. However, a fund crunch has also played a part in the lack of security personnel in the parks.Shortage of horticulture staff is another concern that has been repeatedly raised by councillors during standing committee and House meetings. There are currently around 4,100 staff, including about 3,000 contractual multi-tasking staff, against 6,422 sanctioned posts.However, security measures need to be balanced with ecological concerns, the officials cautioned, adding that excessive artificial lighting in parks can disrupt natural biological clocks of birds, interfere with their migration patterns and affect their survival.
