The National Capital would not have to depend on others for herbal medicines anymore as the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) is developing its own herbal park.
Spread over 27 acres in Ghumanhera, the park will have several medicinal herbs that will be procured from neighbouring States, including Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The herbal park will also be used for conservation of species and will serve as a genepool, both for indigenous and exotic species.
Officials said that plantation of species has begun in the park, which will be associated with SDMC's ayurvedic dispensary, located at Daulatpur in south-west Delhi. The announcement of the herbal park was made in the budget for the year 2013-14 and a fund of Rs 5 crore was also earmarked for the same.
SDMC officials said the park will be ready by this year-end. "A detailed list of the herbs required in the garden has been sent to the Horticulture Department. Plantation of the readily available herbs has already begun," said Mukesh Yadav, director (Press & information) of SDMC.
He said that initially over 60 species of medicinal plants will be developed in the park and more introduced later.
list of the herbs to be grown in the park include, Amaltas (Cassia fistula), Marod Phali (Helicteres isora), Kapur Kachri (Hedychium spicatum Buch), Arjuna (Terminalia arjuna), lemon Grass, Khatmi (Althea officinalis), Chandan, Brahmi, Mehandi, Babool and Chironji among others.
Officials said while some of these herbs are available in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, some others like Arjuna and Kapur Kachri, have to be procured from hills in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. "Developing the herbs in Delhi will reduce our dependency on other States. This is the prime reason as to why the ayurvedic dispensaries in the city have been under-utilised. With a full-fledged herbal park, the medicines and herbs can easily be procured by these dispensaries," said an official.