Gram Sabha plots may soon become playgrounds

With an aim to create playgrounds for children, Delhi Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot has ordered district magistrates to identify Gram Sabha plots located in rural areas under their jurisdiction.

According to the order, the land will be identified in consultation with MLAs, who will also form committees comprising youths of their areas. These committees will be responsible for the maintenance of these playgrounds.

"Gram Sabha plots, where village children can play, shall be identified in each village by the DM concerned," Gahlot stated in his order. Gahlot, who also holds the charge of transport and law, said the area MLA will form a committee of not more than 21 youths, who will be responsible for maintenance of the land.

"The land shall not be allotted or transferred in the name of any authority but will continue to be the Gram Sabha land," he added.

Earlier this month, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that the AAP government has drafted a policy under which training, travelling, and other expenses of national and international-level sportspersons would be fully borne by the government.

Speaking at an event on October 7, Kejriwal had also said that there was no dearth of youths who could earn medals in sports, but their efforts were constrained by facilities and government assistance.

In July this year, Kejriwal had written to Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal, requesting for ownership rights to those who had been allotted small Gram Sabha plots. This land was awarded under the Centre's 20-point programme, nearly four decades ago.

According to government officials, thousands of families in Mehrauli, Najafgarh, Kanjhawala, Narela, and Alipur villages were allotted small plots of Gram Sabha land in 1970s and early 80s, and were now facing hardship.

The Delhi government had already approved the Bhumidhari (ownership) right in 2012, but as the then L-G had a difference of opinion on this issue, he had referred the matter to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Kejriwal had also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to resume the subsidy on sugar given to poor families. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, under the chairmanship of the PM, had taken the decision to end subsidy on sugar across the country.