In an interview with Palam Khap chief Surender Solanki, Ujwal Jalali tries to know more about the challenges faced by the villagers and their demands. Excerpts.
Key problems being faced by Delhi villages?
Lack of basic amenities like clean drinking water, electricity connection, improper sewage system which overflows at regular intervals.More than 150 villages located in the trans Yamuna area no longer even look like villages but mere slum areas. The circle rates have drastically fallen in the border villages.
Have you ever tried to reach out to the government?
We had 3-4 meetings with Delhi LG. Met once with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and have also met Union Minister ML Khattar and Hardeep Puri. In those meetings we highlighted several of the problems being faced by the villagers. The CM had told us that the problems can only be solved by the Central Government. The CM had promised us last year in October that they would call a special Assembly session and pass a resolution for the upliftment of city’s villages.
Has any issue been resolved?
Yes. Since we started this movement and approached the government, two of our issues have been resolved. One was obtaining a No Objection Certificate from Delhi Development Authority before applying for an electricity connection. The government has waived off this requirement. The second was problems being faced in the land mutation process, which too has been relaxed by the LG.
What will be your next move?
We recently held a Mahapanchayat at Jantar Mantar to voice our frustration against the government’s alleged neglect of rural issues, including inadequate infrastructure, poor facilities, and lack of representation. We issued a 15-day ultimatum to the government to act on the concerns, else we may go on an indefinite protest.
Is the budget allocated to the Delhi villages not enough?
There has been no allocation for the Laldora. I would also highlight the land acquisition compensation which is way too less in Delhi as compared to neighbouring state Haryana. At Bajghera village in Haryana, a compensation amount of Rs 13.95 Crore was given to the villagers while Bjwasan village in Delhi which shares border with Bajghera got just `2.13 cr for an acre.