New Delhi, Feb 23 (IANS) The annual Tulip Festival-2026 organised by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) in the heart of the national capital on Shanti Path Lawn will be formally inaugurated on Monday.

During the programme, the festival will feature a special walk and exhibition, an official said in a statement.

“The Tulip Walk and visit to the Tulip Exhibition, showcasing a splendid array of blooming tulips and floral displays curated by the Horticulture Department, will begin on Monday morning in the lawn close to Embassy of Sudan in Chanakyapuri,” the official added.

This year’s Tulip Festival was earlier planned to be inaugurated on February 17 but due to strict security measures for India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, its formal opening ceremony was postponed by a week.

While releasing the NDMC’s Budget last month, NDMC Vice-Chairperson Kuljeet Singh Chahal had outlined the civic agency’s plans to organise Tulip Festival-2026 at a grand scale.

He said that for beautification of the city, 5.53 lakh tulip bulbs will be planted, a large number of which have been developed in-house and in Himachal Pradesh’s Palampur under the “Make in India” initiative.

“Last year, for the first time, the NDMC made the potted Tulip plants of one lakh tulip bulbs and put it up for sale to make them available to the public at Shanti Path Lawn, Lodhi Garden, Nehru Park, Talkatora Garden, Central Park, and NDMC nurseries (Safdarjung Madarsa, Gurudwara Park and Purana Quila Road),” the official added.

On other beautification efforts of the civic agency, Chahal had said, “The NDMC is in the process of transforming into the most progressive municipality of the country in terms of sustainability and self-reliance.”

“We will build a New Delhi that stands as a lighthouse of modernity, sustainability and civic responsibility — a benchmark and goal set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.

He said that a park near Nazaf Khan Road in Lodhi Colony is being developed as a Miyawaki forest.

“Under the plantation drive, 3,500 trees, 29.93 lakh shrubs, and 502 bamboo plants have already been planted, and in 2026–27 the target is to plant 5,100 trees and 4,71,150 shrubs. For irrigation using treated effluent, 10 decentralised sewage treatment plants (STPs) are already operational, and 12 new STPs and five Effluent Treatment Plants are proposed,” the NDMC Vice-Chairperson added.

–IANS

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