Delhi Development Authority (DDA) plans to develop some of its district parks as theme-based urban parks. For this, the land-owning agency has invited expression of interest from private firms. Officials said that these parks will be developed as per the international standards on self-sustaining financial model.

We have hundreds of big and small parks. But, at present, we just focus on greenery. As most of the parks are near residential colonies, it is important to make them more attractive so that more people use them," said a senior DDA official.

As it is a first-of-its-kind initiative, DDA officials said that a final plan for development of urban parks will be made based on the response from private players. We will shortlist a few firms based on their presentations. The focus will be on landscaping rather than greenery. We are thinking about certain kind of activities related to sports, which will attract more people," said the official. The agency wants the firms to focus on landscaping -- based on their theme, utilisation of existing facilities, making the park accessible to all, creating adequate parking space and conservation of heritage structure, if any.