Representatives from 360 villages in Delhi gathered to protest against house tax and government use of Gram Sabha land, among other issues at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.
Led by Chaudhary Surender Solanki of Palam village, the mahapanchayat put forward a set of demands for Lal Dora villages in Delhi, including scrapping house tax on village land and gram sabha land to be used solely for village development.
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The mahapanchayat also demanded allotment of land to Dalits as per the 20-point program of 2006. “Land plots,” Chaudhary Surender Solanki said while addressing the crowd.
Azad Shokin, from Manjul Pur village, spoke about the importance of consulting farmers and landowners while formulating policies such as land pooling and green development zone policy. “My family has lived in Delhi for generations, and they have given their land to the city so that it can develop. Why are they not taking our opinions into consideration?” Shokin asked. “The people of my village are being taxed between Rs 40,000 and Rs 2 crore for their land… The government should not impose taxes on villagers.”
Lal Dora villages are areas in Delhi that were demarcated in red ink during the British rule to distinguish communal residential areas from agricultural land for the purpose of collecting taxes. Over time, the ever-expanding city limits absorbed these villages. Some have been designated as “urban villages” and granted exemptions from some development regulations, in part to preserve their rural character and community land ownership.
