DIY URBANISM

How residents are cleaning, greening and reclaiming their cities, one filthy river, dumping ground, or neglected corner at a time

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Every monsoon, schools and corporates plant trees in the park. "We use CSR funds for maintenance," she adds. "The government helps with fencing and security. Everything else, cleaning, planting, upkeep, comes from citizens.

The initiative has changed how Gurugram sees its land. "Haryana has one of India's lowest forest covers," Sanwalka says. "But people here now understand what's at stake. A clean, green city is not the government's gift, it's our responsibility."

Reviving a dying river

In Lucknow, another citizen collective has been quietly waging its own battle, this one against the slow death of the Gomti river.

The initiative, GoForGomti, was started in May 2023 by Prateek Bharadwaj, a former radio jockey based in Lucknow. Inspired by Mann Ki Baat and environmentalist Pradeep Sangwan's mission to protect the Himalayas from waste and climate damage, Bharadwaj began wondering how he, as an RJ with a loyal following, could use his influence for something tangible. "So I announced on my Instagram story that I'm starting a drive to clean the Gomti, beginning May 7, 2023, a Sunday," he recalls. "To my disappointment and ego's shock, only eight people showed up."

But instead of retreating, he posted photos of that first small effort. "By the next Sunday, 83 people came," he says. "And we haven't missed a single Sunday since, that's over 130 drives so far."