Protest against house tax, govt usage of Gram Sabha land

The mahapanchayat also demanded that Dalits be allotted land according to the 20 Point Programme, 2006. “Apart from the Dalits, the families who had their land taken away by the DDA when Dwarka and Rohini sub cities were being developed, must be compensated with alternative land plots,” said Chaudhary Surinder Solanki while addressing the crowd.

Azad Shokeen, from Mangol Pur village, talked about the importance of consulting farmers and landowners while drawing up policies such as Land Pooling and Green Development Area policy. “My family has lived in Delhi for generations, they’ve given their land to the city so it could develop. Why do they not take our opinions into consideration?” Shokeen asked. “My village’s residents are taxed anywhere between Rs 40 lakh and 2 crore for their land… The government should not tax the villagers,” Shokeen said.

Lal Dora villages are areas of Delhi that were demarcated in red ink during the British rule to differentiate community residential areas from agricultural land for the intent of tax collection. Over time, these villages were absorbed by the ever growing boundaries of the city. Some were labelled “urban villages” and granted exemptions from certain development regulations, partly to preserve their rural character and community land ownership.