Shaheed Park to be expanded, Bollywood Park on hold

New Delhi: After the success of the Bharat Darshan Park, South Delhi Municipal Corporation is set to extend the Shaheed Park at ITO on the lines of 'Waste-to-Wonder' park in the upcoming financial year. The extension of the park was proposed alongside the execution of a Bollywood Park in Jangpura, however that project is currently on hold due to lack of funds.

The proposal for the two parks was previously postponed due to complications over the execution of the park and plans to build it through a public-private partnership. The revised plan suggests SDMC will be undertaking the development of Shaheed Park on its own. The project is estimated to cost approximately Rs 29 crore as per SDMC officials

The Shaheed Park has historical significance and has statues of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. They plan to add statues of Subash Chandra Bose and Sadar Patel.

As per SDMC officials, they have postponed plans for the Bollywood park and other parks due to unavailability of funds. The civic agency said that the Ministry of Urban Affairs was supposed to provide funds but they have not released them yet. SDMC Standing Committee Chairman Col B.K. Oberoi added that the AAP government has also not provided them with adequate funds and are playing politics. Over Rs 100 crore are needed to execute the other park. The budget for the Bollywood Park will be over Rs 50 crore. As per officials, the 8 acre Bollywood Park will depict the history of Indian Cinema, it will consist of memorabilia from popular scenes and movies and won't be limited to just Hindi Cinema.

The parks will follow the theme of 'Waste to Wonder' like Bharat Darshan in Punjabi Bagh and Waste to Wonder Park in Sarai Khan Kale, both have entry tickets and attract many visitors. The Shaheed Park in ITO has historical significance and has statues of Freedom Fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.

The proposals were part of SDMC Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti's Budget proposal for the FY'2022-23.