Move meant to ‘urbanise’ Delhi’s villages leads to distress; High Court flags violation of villagers’ rights 

In the farthest corner of Delhi’s North West district, bordering Haryana, residents of Jaunti — a village steeped in history with a Mughal-era fort — are grappling with unique challenges following its notification as an ‘urban’ area nearly five years ago.

The move, aimed at facilitating the development of civic amenities in the village, has effectively frozen the assets of nearly 800 villagers in Jaunti village and deprived them of formal property rights, due to which they have been unable to access loans, avail of government schemes, and sell their land.

Jaunti is only one among over 300 villages in the Capital that have been notified as ‘urban’ over the past seven decades. Thousands of residents of these villages are suffering from the same fate, say officials.

The issue

There are nearly 350 villages in Delhi. Of these, over 130 villages, including many in south Delhi, such as Humayunpur and Hauz Khas, were declared ‘urban’ in a process that started in the ’50s and ended in 1994. Over 170 more, including those in North West Delhi, such as Jaunti, Nagal Thakran, and Kanjhawala, were notified as urban in subsequent phases between 2018 and 2019. Around 50 villages continue to remain rural.

After a village is notified as ‘urban’ under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, its gram sabha gets dissolved, the land is vested in the Central government, and the Delhi government’s Revenue Department stops maintaining its land records.

However, there is no clarity over the law, policy, or guideline that gives mutation rights to the residents of the ‘urban’ village.

Mutation is the process through which government records are updated when the owner of a land or property transfers the ownership rights to someone through sale or inheritance. Only after the government records are updated does the new owner get ownership rights to that land parcel or property.

L-G takes action

To address some of these concerns, Delhi Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena on Tuesday said mutation on the basis of inheritance of agricultural land in the urbanised villages had been allowed. Mr. Saxena said he took the decision after receiving representation from the seven Lok Sabha members of Delhi as well as several civic society organisations.

However, Jaunti resident Jai Bhagwan said the L-G’s decision did not provide any relief to landowners like him. “He (L-G) has allowed mutation in only those cases where the owner has died. What about the landowners who want to sell their property?”

He added, “Moreover, the issue regarding which authority will carry out the mutation remains unanswered.”

Mr. Bhagwan said the village’s urbanisation had created hurdles in getting access to basic services. “If someone wants an electricity connection for a water pump for irrigation, they won’t be able to get it because they don’t have clear land titles,” he said.

D. Anand, another resident and a former Air Force officer, said, “Things are as they were before our village was notified as urban. The roads are still full of deep potholes, the water supply is erratic and often dirty, and sewers keep getting clogged.”

HC to hear the matter

The plight of Jaunti’s residents came to the authorities’ notice on August 10 while the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) was conducting a free legal aid camp in the village. The DSLSA organises service camps at regular intervals in different parts of the city, including in its villages and slums, offering free legal assistance on various issues, such as dispute resolution and government welfare schemes, to people, especially those from economically weaker sections and marginalised communities.

Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Justice Manmohan were among those present at the August 10 event. They were briefed about how the process of mutation had come to a halt after the village was urbanised.

Tarun Walia, a panel lawyer with DSLSA, said, “For a start, nine persons approached the newly inaugurated legal services clinic at Jaunti village. We have been extending all help to them.”

Based on a report prepared by the DLSLA, the Delhi High Court on September 4 swung into action and turned the report into a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea, calling it a violation of villagers’ fundamental rights under Article 21 and their constitutional right to property under Article 300A.

The court remarked that the issue “needs to be addressed at the earliest, by the concerned departments/government agencies while issuing notices to various government agencies and posting the hearing for October 25.

Published - September 20, 2024 12:58 am IST