A day after they were evicted from Jantar Mantar following an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), many protesters returned to the site as no alternative place for demonstrations has been fixed yet.
Though the name of Ramlila Maidan is doing the rounds as an alternate site, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has been trying everything in its capacity to prevent the NGT from earmarking the areas as the official protest spot.
‘₹50,000 for booking’
The civic body filed an appeal in the NGT on Tuesday requesting permission to submit a report on how protests at the Ramlila Maidan will result in revenue losses worth lakhs. “There is no clarity on how the permissions for protests will be granted. At present, we charge ₹50,000 for booking the ground and only one party can book the venue at a time, unlike in Jantar Mantar where several protesters have marked their spots,” a senior North Corporation official said.
The official added that in the worst case scenario, if the court orders the civic agency to rent out the ground to protesters, they will charge the same fee.
“If we are told to rent it out for free then we will be in a financial mess. We can barely afford to pay the salaries of our employees right now. Last year, we earned ₹27 lakh from renting out Ramlila Maidan,” the official said.
To rent out the 12-acre ground, an application needs to be filed with the North Corporation. After checking for availability, the civic agency sends a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the Delhi Police.
The police said they have received seven requests since the NGT order issued on October 5.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Mandeep Randhawa said: “The protesters have to first get approval from the North Corporation after which the civic body sends the application to us for approval. The protesters can approach the police directly as well, however, they first have to get it approved by them.”
The final approval again comes back to the civic agency.
Hospitals nearby
The ground is also booked every year for a few religious events such as the Ramlila week and Id melas.
The ground is given out for free for these annual events, and taking this away for protests might lead to communal tension, the civic body added.
The health department officials of the civic body raised concerns over hospitals being too close to the Ramlila Maidan, and said that incessant blaring of loudspeakers and sloganeering might disturb patients.
