For GHMC, going green is a challenge

While areas which were part of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad have ample greenery in the form of parks, those attached later to form the GHMC woefully lack it

HYDERABAD: Pollution may be common to all, but not relief from it. A glance at the distribution of parks across the four zones of the GHMC will vouch for the fact that it is not wealth alone, but greenery which is unequally distributed!

While areas which had been part of the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) are endowed with ample greenery in the form of colony parks and public parks, those attached later to form the GHMC woefully lack it.

So, we have a Central Zone brimming with verdant patches and a South Zone doing moderately well, leaving much to be desired for in the East, West and North zones. The Central Zone boasts 212 colony parks covering 83.31 acres, as compared to the West Zone with just 58 parks and the North Zone with only 22.52 acres of planned greenery.

The Central Zone takes the cake even when it comes to tree parks, which are being developed by the GHMC wherever colony welfare associations do not come forward to take maintenance responsibilities. While tree parks are the lowest, numbered at 22 in this zone, the area covered by them, at 59.14 acres, is way beyond that recorded in all other zones.

Over 800 colony parks and tree parks exist across the five zones of the GHMC, while undeveloped plots, shown as open spaces in the layouts, stand at 892. The Central Zone, constituting several upmarket localities, is also home to many major parks maintained by the GHMC authorities, covering 208 acres of a total of 267 acres. The zone also houses most theme parks. The reason lies in the availability of open spaces, say GHMC officials. The Central Zone and parts of South and North zones, which constituted the erstwhile MCH, have large tracts of government lands. Layouts here being much larger, the sprawl of open spaces, too, is very high.

“Municipalities which were merged in the GHMC did not have a horticulture wing, so not many parks or gardens were developed. Our main thrust now is to develop greenery in these areas, for which we are identifying open spaces,” said N. Chandramohan Reddy, Additional Commissioner (Urban Biodiversity). Of a total of 141 colony parks planned in the GHMC area for the year, 60 are planned in the West Zone where many new layouts are coming up and ample space is available, he added. Two major parks are also planned, one at Kishenbagh in the South Zone and the other at Vasanthnagar in the West Zone, Mr. Reddy said.