Indian cities grow hotter by the year. Anyone commuting between May and July knows the physical toll, as heat radiates from asphalt and concrete. As built-up areas expand, mature trees disappear or retreat into ever smaller, fragmented patches, leaving residents with little relief from scorching pavements and recurring heat alerts. Scattered ornamental shrubs, planted in fenced traffic islands and coated year-round in road dust and vehicle emissions, do little to cool surrounding neighbourhoods or provide shade for pedestrians.
To deal with this crisis in Indian cities, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched the Nagar Van Yojana in 2020. Financed through the National CAMPA Fund (Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016), this scheme provides a fixed, one-time per-hectare grant to create urban forests and take care of early park maintenance.
But a wide gap remains between what official records promise and what can be observed on the ground. Field surveys conducted in June 2026 across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan revealed some concerning patterns, repeated at all 14 sites surveyed.
The main threat to these urban forests, the surveys found, is not a shortage of saplings. Forest department nurseries maintain a steady supply of young trees throughout the year. Even in Hardoi city of Uttar Pradesh, where hard, alkaline soil makes it difficult for saplings to survive the harsh summer, officials find ways to cope, ordering water tankers from municipal authorities. Rather it is the delayed funding that threatens to derail the success of the Nagar Van Yojana.
The surveys showed that in the first year, funding usually arrives on time and parks are well maintained. From the second year onwards, however, state allocations often arrive late, making maintenance erratic.
The human cost of delayed maintenance budgets
When wage payments stop, local guards and gardeners are among the first to bear the brunt. Many continue working for a time without pay, out of a sense of duty towards the trees they planted themselves. Some borrow from friends and families to keep basic facilities, including drinking water purifiers and public toilets, running and the park gates open to visitors. "For four months, no money came into our bank accounts," said a daily-wage caretaker at a site in western Uttar Pradesh. "I had to borrow ₹8,000 from a local shopkeeper to pay my child's school fees and keep the park's water pump running, so that the young saplings would not dry out in the June heat."
If funding delays persist, irregular wage payments also make it harder to retain staff. Basic facilities eventually fall into disrepair. Toilets and drinking water systems become unusable, while damaged boundary fences go unrepaired for months, allowing wild boar, nilgai and monkeys damage young plants in a single night.
Some nagar vans are taking steps to limit the damage. In Rajasthan, Shahpura nagar van has installed solar fencing to deter monkeys, while Hardoi nagar van in Uttar Pradesh has dug deep trenches around its perimeter to keep wild animals out. Then there are some, where other measures are helping parks remain viable over the long term.
Etawah Nagar Van: harnessing solar power and harvesting rainwater
Etawah nagar van occupies a dry ravine in a heat-prone part of western Uttar Pradesh, where falling water tables and punishing summer temperatures make water management essential. Yet the park draws large crowds in the mornings and evenings, as well as families at weekends.
Its success rests partly on the infrastructure provided by the forest department, which has gone beyond the basics. High-capacity solar pumps supply water for irrigation, while solar power runs drinking water coolers and streetlights, keeping operating costs low. Percolation ponds capture rainwater and help replenish groundwater. Managed jointly with the local Joint Forest Management Committee, the park also provides open-air gyms, children's play areas and access to clean drinking water on land that was once barren and unused.
Ujjain and Sagar Nagar Van: building cultural and emotional ties to urban forests
In Madhya Pradesh, forest managers have moved beyond the standard municipal park, designing green spaces around local cultural beliefs instead. At Naulakhi nagar van in Ujjain and the city forest in Sagar, visitors can plant saplings associated with their birth stars in designated sections, such as Nakshatra Vatika, Rashi Van and Navgrah Van. The practice gives people a personal stake in the trees.
Other features reinforce that connection. Naulakhi has a walking trail tracing the route of Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya, while Sagar’s nagar van restricts artificial lighting to protect nocturnal wildlife. Active WhatsApp groups also help mobilise residents for community planting drives. By linking conservation to cultural identity and local participation, these parks give people reasons to return without relying on constant publicity.
Alwar and Viratnagar Nagar Van: Linking nature tourism to local economics
Bhugor nagar van in Rajasthan’s Alwar city makes the most of its hilly terrain, offering trekking trails and sunrise and sunset viewpoints rather than relying on flat lawns. Its vegetation includes native and medicinal trees such as neem, banyan, arjun, teak and palash. A small bird-rescue centre adds to its appeal, while trekkers regularly spot peacocks and other wild birds. Such encounters can encourage visitors to take a greater interest in maintaining the park and protecting its wildlife.
In Rajasthan’s Viratnagar town, where the nagar van is located on the periphery of villages, conservation is linked to local livelihoods. Village residents are allowed to collect dry grass and other biomass from buffer zones for their livestock, which acts as an incentive to protect the core forest from illegal grazing and other forms of misuse. The scenic views and remoteness of the site provide an additional attraction.
A practical two-stage solution
Findings of the surveys suggest that for urban forests to survive over the long term, India needs a clear, two-stage policy model.
Secure multi-year maintenance funding: State CAMPA funding rules should be amended to guarantee every newly approved urban forest a multi-year maintenance budget, covering staff wages, summer watering, fence repairs and routine upkeep. Funds should be disbursed in scheduled instalments and linked to regular site inspections.
Transfer day-to-day management to local partnerships: After two or three years, once the trees are established and the basic infrastructure is stable, responsibility for daily operations should pass to a joint committee involving the forest department, the urban local body and the Joint Forest Management Committee. These bodies could raise limited revenue through ecotourism, regulated entry fees, sustainable grass harvesting and other locally appropriate activities.
Morning and evening access could remain free for regular walkers, while a modest fee could be charged to visitors during less busy afternoon hours. Nagar vans like Laharpur and Chandanpura in Bhopal and Naulakhi in Ujjain charge an entry fee of Rs 12 per user. Etawah and Jaipur nagar vans are planning their own ticketing systems.
Such fees are not intended to generate substantial profits. They could, however, provide a modest but immediate source of cash to pay guards on time and repair essential infrastructure when government grants are delayed or withheld.
The forest department would retain ownership of the land, helping guard against commercial development and encroachment.
Such an arrangement need not amount to privatisation. Properly designed, it would give local residents a greater stake in the parks they use and a formal role in maintaining them, while keeping the land in public ownership.
The fact is that air-conditioning alone will not cool India's cities. Lasting relief requires living forests, which moderate local temperatures and provide much-needed shade. The Nagar Van Yojana provides the framework. What is missing is a financial system that supports trees throughout their lives.
Survey findings are based on primary data collected and analysed under National CAMPA, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth