New Delhi: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is banking on public art to check defacement of properties and ensure cleanliness around them. The civic body has already initiated a pilot project, in collaboration with a group of artists, The Ugly Indian, in three locations under its jurisdiction.The places which have been given a facelift include an underpass at Africa Avenue, a wall adjacent to North Block and Pilanji Village. The idea behind the initiative is to encourage citizens to keep public places clean and offer them an opportunity to appreciate art.NDMC secretary Chanchal Yadav said that the artists’ group had approached them to seek their approval for developing public art in some places, which were in poor sanitary conditions. “We decided to go ahead with the proposal to ensure that these places are kept clean. There are several places where people either relieve themselves or dump garbage. We want to stop people from doing such things. That’s why, general public is being involved in our project. Anyone can be part of it,” said Yadav.Elaborating the cleanliness aspect, Yadav further said the wall of Africa Avenue rail underpass gave off a foul stink as people used to urinate on that spot until recently. “While Pilanji Village near Sarojni Nagar Market had faced a similar problem, garbage dumping was rampant near a wall adjacent to North Block. So we decided to implement the project at these places. This will be replicated in other locations in the New Delhi area.”NDMC field staff have been directed to find more spots, which need urgent attention and submit a report every week. “Based on their reports, we will develop public art at those places soon. It is an on-going project and we will ensure NDMC areas get a facelift,” added Yadav. The second part of the project will kick off soon, which will include renovation of subways. “It has been noticed that most of the subways are in bad shape because of poor lighting and dirty ambience. We will ensure that the subways are renovated and kept clean so that people use them frequently. Public art will help us achieve that,” said Yadav.