The Tiruchi City Corporation has outsourced the maintenance and operation of major parks in the city, amid increasing complaints of their poor upkeep.
In 2013, the Corporation outsourced the maintenance of three parks — Ibrahim Park on West Boulevard Road, Chinnasamy Park on Rajaram Road, and R.S. Puram South Park in Khajamalai — to a private agency on a pilot basis.
Following satisfactory outcome, the Corporation has roped in a private player for the upkeep of major parks, including the Heritage Park on Butterworth Road and STEM Park on Panchakarai Road. The move comes in as a solution to reduce expenditure.
Under the project, the private agency will clean the park and will be responsible for maintenance of a range of facilities in the park, including play equipment, lawn, greenery, fountain, pavement, benches, light fittings, and toilets.
The agency is allowed to install new play equipment at its own expense for which user fees can be collected from the visitors. Staff, including those for security, will be employed by the agency. Corporation officials will monitor the performance of the agency with field visits.
According to sources, there are around 325 public parks in all five zones of the city, and the annual maintenance cost of each major public park is more than ₹2 lakh. The civic body is considering roping in more private agencies to take up the maintenance of all public parks as it does not have funds or manpower to do the job.
However, residents expressed concern over entrusting a private agency to maintain the Heritage Park established at ₹4 crore. “Why build a public park for crores of rupees when the Corporation is keen on cutting down expenses? The land could be utilised for some essential purposes,” said T. Prabhu, a city resident.
Residents complained about heavy user fee collected separately for each play equipment. “One has to pay around ₹50 to use one equipment, which is high for some. The patronage of the parks may come down because of this,” he said. They have urged the civic body to ensure that visitors were not fleeced with hefty user fees.
