India, Oct. 13 -- With more than two-thirds of the gardeners post lying vacant and acute manpower crunch across various levels, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is planning to hire a private agency to supply outsourced manpower to manage Delhi's parks, gardens, and other green spaces for a period of two years. According to the department estimates, the project is likely to cost around Rs.143 crore. A proposal in this regard has been moved by the municipal commissioner to the house of councillors.

A senior municipal official said that currently gardeners are being hired under a piecemeal approach for short periods of time which needs repeated sanctions. "The existing contract has also expired in August and repeated sanctions/appro...