Green park at Lakshmi Garden thrown open to public

It was set up at a cost of ₹ 60 lakh under AMRUT scheme

The newly opened green park at Lakshmi Garden in Moolapalayam, Erode.

A green park set up at a cost of ₹ 60 lakh at Lakshmi Garden (Ward 34) in the city was thrown open to public on Thursday.

Absence of parks and recreation facility continues to be a concern for people in the city, who were demanding such facilities for many years now. The existing V.O.C. Park and Children’s Park are closed for renovation from January this year. Except for Periyar Park, the city lacks green spaces in residential areas where people could spend time.

A senior corporation official said that as per norms, the city should have an open space availability of 10 to 12 sq.m. per person.

“But now the available space is 1.42 sq.m. per person”, he said.

Smart Cities Mission

Under the Smart Cities Mission, the civic body has proposed to develop 30 green spaces at a total cost of ₹ 24.93 crore. Works began in a phased manner earlier this year to set up parks on a total area of 1.94 lakh sq.m. under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, the official said.

While 15 parks have been thrown open to public so far, the park at Lakshmi Garden was inaugurated on Thursday. The park has play equipment for children, walkways, potable water, fountains, lawns, seating arrangements, and lights. Parks set up at Muthampalayam, Kongu Nagar Layout, and Theeran Nagar at ₹ 75 lakh were also inaugurated.

Officials said that only 21 parks were being maintained and used by public, while over 75 parks were in a poor state in the city. More parks would be developed in residential areas in the coming years to increase the green cover in the city, they said.