A joint survey by multiple departments of the Delhi Government has revealed staggering communal encroachments and unauthorised commercial use on more than 45,000 sq ft (more than an acre) of prime Ramlila Maidan land in Turkman Gate area – one of the capital’s most communally sensitive zones.
On the encroached public land – larger than Connaught Place’s entire inner circle block – stands a large mosque structure, graveyard, banquet hall, private diagnostic centre and vehicle parking.
The survey, conducted in the second week of October by officials from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Land & Development Office (L&DO), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), was ordered following a series of complaints by Save India Foundation, led by well-known civic activist Preet Sirohi.
His complaint, first filed this May and based on official documents from 1958, said that the current illegal communal and commercial use is in direct violation of the original land allotment.
All the above documents related to the case have been accessed by Rashtra Jyoti.
What the Survey Says
According to the joint inspection report signed by eight officials on 16 October 2025, the encroachments span three zones marked on the official site plan:
• Nearly 37,000 sq ft of MCD land occupied by commercial entities such as a baraat ghar, private diagnostic centre and vehicle parking.
• Nearly 7,400 sq ft housing a large mosque and graveyard complex identified as Faizal Shah Qabristan.
• Additional portions of Public Works Department (PWD) land and footpaths also found encroached.
‘Land Mafia Used Religion As Shield’
Sirohi said the survey report corroborates long-standing public concerns over communal encroachments of public land in the national capital region.
The Register of Immovable Property, 1958, site plan clearly shows this land was transferred by the L&DO to MCD for public purposes at a nominal rent of Re 1 per annum, said Sirohi.
“Only a small portion was designated as a graveyard. It is alarming how an acre of land has been stolen,” he said.
Sirohi said that the land mafia has used religious pretexts as a shield to prevent official intervention and demolitions.
What Next
Sirohi’s Save India Foundation has now demanded that the Delhi Government publicly release the full survey map, identify which portions have been declared Waqf, and launch immediate demolition and reclamation proceedings.
In an official communication to various Delhi departments and the chief minister, the Foundation has also warned that selective classification of encroached land as religious property could set a dangerous precedent for communal land capture in the heart of the national capital and undermine national security.
Sirohi told Rashtra Jyoti that he and his Foundation have documented hundreds of similar communal encroachments across Delhi, where public green spaces have been taken over and illegally commercialised by certain groups, depriving ordinary citizens of their rightful civic amenities.
Notably, it was after the relentless court battle by Sirohi’s Save India Foundation that the Delhi government was forced to demolish portions of an illegal structure named Muhammadi Jama Masjid and Madarsa located in Mongolpuri Y block, last year, following a Delhi high court order.
The mosque commitee members had resorted to heavy stone-pelting to obstruct the demolition drive by municipal corporation.
When will Govt Act?
With official confirmation, the case would be seen as a litmus test of the Delhi Government’s willingness to act against encroachment on public property.
If pursued to its logical conclusion, the Ramlila Maidan survey could mark a turning point in Delhi’s fight to reclaim public land from entrenched interests and restore civic accountability.
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