Villagers meet Harsh Malhotra, seek tax-free passage at toll plaza

A delegation representing Delhi’s 360 villages on Saturday met Union Minister of State (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) Harsh Malhotra, requesting him to make the Mundka-Bakkarwala toll plaza tax-free for the villagers.

Residents of several villages held a protest near the Mundka-Bakkarwala toll plaza for the past few days.

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The protesters, who live in nearby villages, also held a protest over the issue on August 26, following which the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) asked them to wait till August 31 to get their demands fulfilled.

After meeting the protesters, the minister said that no tax was ever imposed on local villagers. He also assured the villagers’ representatives that he would look into the issue.

Meanwhile, the villagers have been unhappy over the decision to impose tax on them, and asked why they should pay tax as their lands were acquired by the government on a very small amount of money.

On Sunday, the Panchayat of Vrindavan 360 villages will organise a protest on the issue. They said the issue will be discussed with the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.