Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena on Saturday launched an ₹800-crore campaign, ‘Dilli Gramodaya Abhiyan’, to develop urban villages in the national capital. A Raj Niwas official said the campaign, funded and implemented by the Delhi Development Authority, will ensure that all 135 urban villages in Delhi get an infrastructure boost, landscape upgrade, and civic services at par with the more developed parts of the city.
Announcing the programme in north-west Delhi’s Jaunti village, Mr. Saxena inaugurated a seven-acre plot to provide fodder to nearly 4,000 livestock. A water body adjoining the grazing ground will also be cleaned, dredged, deepened, and rejuvenated within a week, said officials. It will have a water channel on its periphery to ensure rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge.
The L-G said the seven-acre field is a first-of-its-kind experiment in the Capital, which will ensure that stray cattle on the roads, often seen consuming garbage and being hit by passing vehicles, get a proper ecosystem for their sustenance.
Action plan
A Raj Niwas official said under the ‘Dilli Gramodaya Abhiyan’, an action plan will be prepared for each village in consultation with the residents to transform the basic infrastructure, including civic services, health, and sports facilities, in addition to which horticultural upgrades and water management resources will also be provided.
Earlier this year, the L-G had adopted five villages in north-west Delhi — Jaunti, Qutabgarh, Nizampur, Rawta, and Deorala — to be developed as self-sustainable model villages.
A Raj Niwas official said the Qutabgarh village, adopted in February, has already seen a lot of development in several sectors. “The water bodies in the area have been rejuvenated, community centres created, water pipelines mended, and parks renovated,” the official said.
“Moreover, a sports complex is also being built in the area, which will have facilities for various sports, including cricket, badminton, volleyball, and wrestling. The work on it is expected to be completed in a month,” the official said, adding that the other four villages have also seen similar development.
