NEW DELHI: South corporation is bringing the “seven wonders” of the world closer to home. Come January, you can pose in front of replicas of these monuments — for a small fee. The project, a part of SDMC’s waste-to-art initiative, will come alive at Rajiv Gandhi Smriti Van near Sarai Kale Khan.The existing park will be redeveloped into a “Wonders of the World Park”. In its current form, the park is divided into two parts: a green patch and a six-acre plot in use by Delhi Metro to build a facility.SDMC commissioner Puneet Goel said, “Seven sections in this green area will have dedicated themed spaces for seven monuments, which are recognised as world’s great wonders . Replicas of these monuments will be installed and all these will be made of waste material.”The height of the replicas of the seven wonders — Great Pyramid of Giza, Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Statue of Liberty, Christ the Redeemer, Colossuem and Taj Mahal — will be in the range of 15ft and 60 ft. A 60ft tall Eiffel Tower replica will be built at a cost of Rs 94 lakh (approx) whereas that of Taj Mahal will cost Rs 1.16 crore, the most expensive among the seven. The total projected cost of the project is Rs 5 crore.Alok Kumar, director horticulture, SDMC, said around 110 tonne of waste would be required to make the replicas, for which they had earlier planned to use bricks. “The tender has been finalised and, soon, work will be awarded to a private concessionaire. The project should be completed six months from then,” Kumar said.The park will have a cafeteria and a centre to showcase projects of the horticulture department. “These replicas will have stone plinths to provide information about the seven wonders. The replica of Taj Mahal will be the most expensive as it requires intricate detailing. We have sourced 110 tonne of waste from 24 MCD yards and stores,” Kumar said.NDMC has planned to charge Rs 20 as entry fee to the park. “It will be difficult to maintain the park if entry is free,” Kumar said.The idea has been borrowed from a similar park in Kota, Rajasthan , built adjacent to the Kishore Sagar Lake. The cost of that project was around Rs 20 crore, sources said. Opened to public in September 2013, it’s now a popular tourist destination. However, the replicas at Kota aren’t made of waste.

Stay updated with all the Delhi Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.