SHIVANI SINGH

It’s easy to drive around in Delhi on holidays, but not if you are passing through India Gate. One of the largest open stretches in the heart of the national capital, the India Gate lawns get more footfall than any other public place, barring the zoo, in Delhi. The crowds often spill over into roads and cause traffic snarls.

Not everyone who visits Delhi’s famous war memorial is an out-of-towner. One finds groups of boys from the walled city playing cricket, children running around their families, couples occupying their slots and many loners just wandering about. For many, this is the only open space accessible to them in the city.

Once, the best part about living in Delhi was the sense of space it provided. Even now, the national capital doesn’t fare badly on the open area to population ratio. The WHO recommends at least nine sqm of unpaved open space for every city inhabitant. Most developed countries have about 20 sqm of open space per capita. Delhi has 22 sqm per person. Yet, residents in many Delhi neighbourhoods complain about the lack of open space.

Blame eco-disparity for that. With 20% forest cover, Delhi is one of the world’s greenest cities. But the green cover is not uniformly distributed. According to a TERI University report, there is 121 sqm of green space available per capita in New Delhi district. In adjoining Central Delhi, it is 35 sqm. It further reduces to 3.05 sqm in the north-east, 2.73 in east and 2.5 sqm in west Delhi. Most of the city forests are situated in the north-west and