Bharat Vandana Park: Integrating Ecology, Infrastructure, And Cultural Nationalism In Urban India

Policy Update
Charu Singh

Background

Bharat Vandana Park is a flagship initiative by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), introduced as a national integration and ecological park with the objectives of creating a space for human health and wellbeing, social cohesion, tourism, protection of biodiversity and ecological and environmental benefits. Located in Dwarka sector 20, New Delhi, the park spans 200 acres in accordance with green construction principles and environmental standards as prescribed and approved by the ministry of Environment, Forest, and climate change (MoEFCC). The Park has a Master plan zoning dividing it into different zones according to functions and special elements like congregational area, recreational zone, eco-trail zone, eco forest, etc. The park is expected to reach full completion by early 2026

Functioning

The project execution is supported by the National Buildings and Constructions Corporation (NBCC) while the central authorities keep a regular monitor of the works. The design and layout of the park has been conceived to incorporate diverse cultural and thematic elements in the form of “zones.” Some of these zones represent characteristics and components of different states and UTs like Mini India, Eco Zone, Adventure Park, Meditation Zone.

Furthermore, there has been a substantial emphasis on inculcating sustainable practices through rain water harvesting, for which there are 6 tanks with a volume of 5000 cubic meters, use of solar energy, which is roughly 500 kWh/day. and estimated use of 1000 KLD sourced from treated water, most operations like horticulture. The park also uses eco-friendly construction materials like ‘Fly Ash Bricks’ to practise green construction, therefore reinforcing its objective of environmental and ecological conservation while promoting eco-tourism and environmental education.

The facilities include a ticket-based entry, a massive parking structure that can accommodate 1900 cars, 500 two-wheelers, and 70 buses. Inhouse facilities include restaurants, performance arenas, walking trails,a boating area, and an amphitheatre.

Performance

Since the project has had only a phased completion and not full completion, the status currently is civil works at 88% completion, the zones landscaping is in advanced stages, sewage treatment plants, rainwater tanks and other environmental structures are near completion, facilities like restaurants, plazas and ticket counters are also in final phases. The layout has been designed to hold about 25,000 visitors at once. Therefore, the future performance of the park seems to be promising.

Impact

As aimed, the project is expected to achieve many of its environmental, social, cultural, and economic objectives. The park will positively contribute to the environment by improving the urban green coverage in Delhi through its 200 acres of vastness, it will enable water conservation and recharging the groundwater table in the area with its harvesting structures, it will also promote proper sewage disposal and sustainable construction and maintenance practices. Moreover, by representing the elements of various states and UTS in the theme zones, the park fosters national unity, cultural integrity and promotes India’s rich cultural diversity while also educating the visitor about the same.

Socially, the park would enhance the standard of urban life through its infrastructure and available facilities for recreation, eco-tourism, and other activities. Furthermore, this project will become a site of major attraction for the area, increasing the footfall in the region and catalyzing local businesses. Hence, it gains a major economic benefit too.

Emerging Issues

There have been completion delays even though the park was originally planned for a phase-wise execution and completion. The cause behind these delays have been the complexity in the infrastructure due to features like Skywalk, themed lakes and other zones which require the implementation of large scale civil and infrastructure works. Moreover, being such a massive environmentally driven project, it required many environmental approvals from regulatory authorities like the MoEFCC. The acquisition of various environment clearance documents and posed a delay in the full completion of the park. There were also changes made in the original design to enhance safety protocols, create more green infrastructure which has led to tender extensions multiple times

Another major challenge for a park as massive in scale as the Bharat Vandana Park is ensuring long-term maintenance and operational sustainability. Tasks like sustained cleaning, landscaping, water management, security, availability of technical staff to manage things like the solar energy systems and sewage treatment plants and other technical systems need consistent funds. Therefore, the DDA has reached out to private partners through open tenders to handle the operation and maintenance. The DDA has highlighted through its tenders that a project of this large scale and complexity will have operational complexities while also pointing to the scale of sustainability efforts required to maintain the quality standards envisioned for the project

There will also be a grave need for crowd management especially during peak times like holiday or weekends which is expected to be at 25,000 visitors. The DDA will have to put in place certain crucial crowd control measures such as queuing areas, appropriate signs, and sections along with a support staff to guide the crowd.

Furthermore, the park might also face the challenge of maintaining the several mandatory conditions mentioned in the environmental clearance issued by the MoEFCC. These conditions include 100% treatment of waste water which mean zero liquid discharge and then the use of this treated water for irrigation and other purposes, harvesting of rain water, waste management, green landscaping, etc. compliance to all these needs will need an active and sustained maintenance.

Way forward

Considering everything mentioned above, it is evident that the project firstly needs to accelerate its completion efficiently coordination with the MoEFCC, DDA, NBCC and the contractors. Once the park becomes functional, periodic environmental and operational review and audits will need to be ensured ensuring that the standards and conditions are complied to. It will also be highly helpful to set up an effective public feedback mechanism to ensure community engagement in the management of the park.

References

Delhi Development Authority. (n.d.). Welcome to Delhi Development Authority https://dda.gov.in/

BCC (India) Limited. (n.d.). NBCC (India) Ltd. https://nbccindia.in/

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. (n.d.). Online submission & monitoring of environmental clearances. http://environmentclearance.nic.in/

Government of India. (n.d.). Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). https://pgportal.gov.in/

About the Contributor-Charu Singh is currently pursuing her postgraduate degree in Political Science (Honours) from Gargi College, University of Delhi. She is a research intern at IMPRI.

Acknowledgment– The author sincerely thanks Ms. Aasthaba Jadeja and the IMPRI team for their valuable support.

Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organization.