Centre begins fresh eviction process against Delhi Gymkhana Club

THe Centre has initiated refreshed constructive eviction proceedings against the new delhi Gymkhana bludgeon in sir edwin landseer luytens’ Delhi by issuing a show-cause notice under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 barely a month after assuring the Delhi High Court that any eviction would be carried out only in accordance with law and after prior notice. The matter is now scheduled to be heard on July 28.A member of the legal team representing the club told HT on Wednesday that the fresh notice, issued on June 29, would be challenged before the high court. Officials of the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), under which the Land and Development Office (L&DO) and Directorate of Estates function, did not respond to requests for comment.In the latest notice, a club representative has been asked to appear before the estate officer on or before July 7 and explain why eviction proceedings should not continue pursuant to the earlier eviction order. In the absence of a response from the club, the notice said that the matter could be decided ex parte.The June 29 notice states that since the lease stood terminated on May 22 and the government had exercised its right of re-entry under Clause 4, the club’s continued occupation now amounts to “unauthorised occupation” under Section 2(g) of the Public Premises Act. It reiterates that the land is required for defence infrastructure, public security, governance infrastructure and other public-interest projects.On May 22, the L&DO directed the century-old club to vacate its 27.3-acre premises at Safdarjung Road by June 5, stating that the land was required for “urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure and public-interest projects”. The government had invoked the “public purpose” clause contained in the original lease deed.The club subsequently moved the Delhi High Court, which on May 26 declined to stay the notice after Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, assured the court that there would be no forcible takeover and that any eviction would be carried out only after prior notice and in accordance with the procedure laid down under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act.The controversy later expanded to include the adjoining Jaipur Polo Ground. On June 9, while hearing a petition filed by the Indian Polo Association (IPA), the high court questioned the Centre’s move to reclaim several open spaces in Lutyens’ Delhi.“What are you going to do with all these heritage structures? … Make 20-storey buildings?... All of us will suffocate and die,” justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed, expressing concern over the shrinking green spaces in the national capital.However, on June 13, the Centre took possession of the 15.2-acre Jaipur Polo Ground, following which the high court declined to stay its use, observing that physical possession had already been taken by the government.Eviction proceedings were also carried out at the Bhai Ram Camp slum cluster on June 15, one of three informal settlements located in the high-security Safdarjung Road–Lok Kalyan Marg zone surrounding the Prime Minister’s residence.