Ramlila Maidan booking for protests in Delhi will cost at least Rs 1.21 lakh for a single day, while only December 29, 30 and 31 are currently available this year, according to information reported by Live Hindustan – NCR. The development comes after Delhi Police designated the historic ground as one of three new locations for protests and public meetings.
The 12-acre Ramlila Maidan can accommodate up to 50,000 people, officials told the publication. The basic booking fee is Rs 50,000 a day, while organisers must also deposit Rs 55,000 as a refundable security amount. Including taxes, the initial payment for one day begins at Rs 1.21 lakh.
The venue is booked through the horticulture department of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), which grants the permission. An applicant must obtain a no-objection certificate from Delhi Police before the civic body can approve the booking, according to the report.
A smaller section of the ground is available free of charge for protests and meetings, but its capacity is limited to 150 people. This creates a sharp difference between the cost and scale of a large demonstration and the access available for smaller gatherings.
The new arrangements follow a permanent order issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar on October 11. Under the order, Jantar Mantar will no longer be available for protests, while Ramlila Maidan, Burari Maidan and the CBD Maidan in east Delhi have been identified as the new designated locations.
The shift has raised concerns among organisations and residents’ groups that previously used Jantar Mantar without paying a venue fee. Protest organisers cited by Live Hindustan said the charges at Ramlila Maidan could make it difficult for groups to hold demonstrations. An MCD official said that allowing the ground to be used without a fee would cause the civic body to lose at least Rs 50,000 or more each day.
Availability is also constrained by the ground’s existing schedule. MCD officials said Ramlila Maidan had already been booked for various programmes and festivals, including events around Dussehra and Diwali, leaving only the three December dates open for booking this year. The report said the venue would not be available for the next two and a half months.
The ground’s location adds to the administrative complexity of using it for large gatherings. It lies in a busy commercial area near three hospitals and the MCD headquarters, making crowd management, traffic control and public access important parts of the approval process. The report did not provide details of any separate traffic or crowd-management charges.
Ramlila Maidan has historically served both as a cultural venue and a major political gathering space. Officials cited in the report said the area was once a pond that was filled and levelled by 1930, after which Ramleela performances began there in 1932. Following Independence, the surrounding area was developed in 1951 to support livelihoods for refugees who had arrived from Pakistan.
The ground has since hosted major political rallies and public events, including addresses by Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Jayaprakash Narayan and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Arvind Kejriwal also took oath as Delhi chief minister there in 2013. The immediate next step for an organisation seeking to use the venue is to apply through the MCD horticulture department after securing the required Delhi Police no-objection certificate.
