News: MCG goes ahead with waste-to-wonder project-27-06-2021
Officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram on Sunday said that the civic body is continuing with its work on a waste-to-wonder project at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Park in Sector 17, despite residents’ objections.
According to officials, MCG commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja visited the site and said that around 30 structures, based on the theme of automobiles, will be developed from junk and erected in the park. Ahuja visited the park on Friday evening for a site inspection.
Ahuja said that the project will cost around ₹2.5 crore and structures, such as ships, buses, trains, helicopters, cars, bikes, aeroplanes, cycles, UFOs, vehicles from Batman superhero movies, swings, tricycles and a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, will be placed in the park.
“The waste-to-wonder project will also have six selfie points and a food court will also be developed around the park. After the completion of this project, people will get a better place to visit in Gurugram and it will attract tourists not only from different parts of the country, but also from abroad,” said Ahuja, in an official release issued by the civic body following his visit.
In August last year, taking inspiration from the waste-to-wonder park set up at Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi, the MCG decided to develop a similar project for Gurugram as well. The waste-to-wonder project in Delhi opened in February 2019 and has replicas of the Seven Wonders of the World, all of which are made from scrap.
MCG officials privy to the matter said that of the 30 structures, construction of 29 are nearing completion while work on a solitary structure is at a nascent stage. The structures have been developed using items such as pipes, metals, rusted iron and old vehicle parts, among other junk materials.
Residents of sectors 14 and 17 have been protesting against MCG’s project ever since the park was reopened on June 2 after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted after a gap of two months. The park is located adjacent to Sector 14 and falls under Sector 17.
Residents said that during April and May, when the park was closed for the public, the park became heavily concretised and also many trees were axed to make space for the structures.
The residents’ welfare association (RWA) of Sector 14 also filed a petition on the matter at the Punjab and Haryana high court, the hearing of which is scheduled to take place on June 29.
“Similar to the Sarai Kale Khan project, the MCG should have developed the waste-to-wonder project on barren land instead of axing a large number of trees and removing shrubs and grass to develop it in Netaji Subhas Park. Given the city’s green cover is already in a major crisis, the MCG should have developed it on areas where encroachment is common so that government land remains preserved,” said Sanjeev Agrawal, a member of the Sector 14 RWA.
He said that the park has been a popular walking spot for residents of Old Gurugram over the past three decades, but it has “lost its charm” due to the project.
“Walkers no longer want to visit the park as paths have narrowed or blocked due to the waste-to-wonder project and the absence of greenery has also made several patches dusty. Due to these reasons, we are pursuing the matter legally in the high court and hoping for a decision in our favour,” said Agrawal.
