Delhi HC slams civic bodies over poor condition of kids' parks

New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday slammed the civic authorities in the national capital for not being able to improve the deplorable condition of children's parks in the city.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw said that despite directions from the court in the last one year, nothing has improved.

"How much is the budget (for maintaining the children's parks)? We are very sure it must be huge. Where is the money going? In the last one year, nothing has been improved. Every park remains the same. We have to fix responsibility, we will pass a detailed order," the court said.

The court's response came after the amicus curiae in the case said nothing has been done by the authorities to improve the condition of children's parks despite the court's directions.

The amicus curiae said that apart from the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Delhi Development Authority, no other civic agency has filed affidavit in the case stating the conditions of children's park under their jurisdiction and the steps taken by them.

The court was hearing a suo motu case it took after a letter by a Supreme Court judge spoke about the deplorable condition of children's parks in the capital.

An NGO had also told the court that out of 14,000 municipal parks in the city, only 126 have dedicated playing facilities for children.

Due to the lack of playgrounds, children are inhumanly being pushed to stay indoors with digital devices as their only outlet, NGO Peoples' Action Group said.