In Delhi, money has a colour: it's green

Across cities, and more so in Delhi, rich localities are better served than the poor, even as both break all urban planning rules

- Ekta Chauhan

Sheher Mein Gaon: Conflict, Culture and Change in the Urban Villages of Delhi: By Ekta Chauhan, Penguin Random House India, 224 pages, ₹399.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'farmhouse' as 'a house attached to a farm, especially the main house in which the farmer lives'. In Delhi, however, the term has taken on a dramatically different meaning.

Today, 'farmhouses' refer to sprawling luxury estates owned by the city's affluent elite. Located in areas like Sainik Farm, Chhatarpur, Sultanpur and Mehrauli, these properties are far removed from agriculture and instead symbolize status, exclusivity and opulence.

As the city expanded in the 1950s, rural and forested areas in south Delhi became attractive for their proximity to the city centre. One such area that saw rapid development was next to Deoli village: Sainik Farm. In 1961, the Delhi Sainik Cooperative House Building Society introduced a scheme to allot subsidized land for defence personnel (hence the name 'sainik'). Land was allotted through the 1970s and 1980s to veterans of the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars to 'relieve them from mental agony' and aid in their rehabilitation.

Originally spread across 161 acres and comprising 102 farm plots, within a decade, the area began attracting non-defence personnel due to its large plots and relatively low land prices. Soon enough, the character of the area started changing as private estates began appearing on agricultural land, circumventing several laws and regulations. In 1976, the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act sought to limit large landholdings, but Sainik Farm residents sidestepped these restrictions by claiming agricultural use.