New Delhi: Delhi L-G V.K. Saxena inaugurated the Asita East project near Laxmi Nagar on Wednesday. The project is a part of Delhi Development Authority's ongoing restoration and rejuvenation programme of the Yamuna floodplains to restore the ecological character of the floodplains of Yamuna river and give breathable public green space to the people of East Delhi.
Asita East project is spread over 197 hectares of land, 90 lectures of the land falls under DDA's jurisdiction and the rest falls under the jurisdiction of UP Irrigation Department. Saxena underlined the importance of Delhi reclaiming its green spaces and appealed to the residents of the city to come forward and play the role of a proactive stakeholder in making the city's air, water and environment pollution free.
The L-G said he hopes that the Capital will soon have sufficient eco-friendly and environmentally rejuvenating public green spaces for recreation and other public activities.
As part of the Asita East Project, about 100-150 mts of the area along the major roads has been developed as 'Greenway', which is proposed to be a public recreation zone comprising walkways, water bodies and open spaces for congregation along with public amenities. Plantations conducive to the Yamuna flood plains have been strategically chosen and about 4,000 trees and 33.5 lakh riverine grasses have been planted so far. An existing depression measuring approximately 2 hectares has been restored into a waterbody for catchment of flood waters. This waterbody has the capacity to store approximately 50,000-60,000 CuM of water during the monsoons.
Asita East once developed will be a spot for several bird lovers to enjoy since it is home to a range of resident birds like Spotbilled Duck, Indian Moorhen, Purple Swamphen and migratory birds like Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Verditer Flycatcher, Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher, etc.