Area under parks and gardens in the summer capital is just half of what standard norms provide for.
According to official data, Srinagar city has 169 parks covering about 287 hectares against a minimum standard of 570 hectares provided in the Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) guidelines, 2015.
“This implies that the total area available under organised parks and gardens is deficient by close to fifty percent of the total requirement ,”says a document prepared by government’s housing and urban development department.
“There is no denying the fact that Srinagar city is grossly deficient in organised green spaces (parks and gardens).”
The URDPFI guidelines suggest standards for open spaces in large and metropolitan cities are 1.2 to 1.4 hectares per 1000 persons, depending upon the land availability.
Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that cities should provide nine square metres of unpaved open space for every inhabitant.
Srinagar has meager 2.6 square meters per capita green space availability for each city dweller.
The world body also suggests designing green area networks so that all residents live within a 15 minute walk to an open space.
In Indian cities, according to the urban greening guidelines of 2014, a report from the ministry of urban development, per capita green space in metropolitan cities is better than that in Srinagar.
Varanasi (24.78 sq m), Bhopal (18.62 sq m) and Chandigarh (17.43 sq m) are much better in this respect than Srinagar.
Gandhinagar in Gujarat fares spectacularly with 162 sq m of green space per person.
On September 15, the J&K High Court asked the state’s Chief Secretary to take a call on the letter addressed by a former judge of the Court to it suggesting to enhance green space in Srinagar.
Former chief justice of Bihar, Justice (retd) Bilal Nazki in May 2016 had also written a letter to the chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir highlighting how the city lacks the green spaces.
In 2017, the High Court treated the letter as Public Interest Litigation.
Except for few, Srinagar has lost many historic gardens due to indifference and apathetic attitude of successive authorities. The lost gardens include Dewan Bagh, Baghi Ali Mardan, Baghi Dilawar Khan.
At least five government agencies are directly responsible for the development and maintenance of public parks in the state which include department of floriculture, Srinagar municipal corporation, Srinagar development authority, J&K housing board and landscape division and PW(R&B) department.