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| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

In his first reaction to the government’s decision to begin the process of taking back the land leased to the Delhi Gymkhana Club, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister M.L. Khattar on Monday (June 1, 2026) said the government could take back land needed for any other purpose and that this process would be followed wherever necessary.“Land is a basic feature of urban development. In most cases, it has been given on lease. The leased land can be vacated upon expiry of the lease or even before that for any other use. The land we are taking back today will be put to use as per the requirements, and this work will carry on. There is no other source of land, so we will have to use this land for development needs,” Mr. Khattar said, replying to a question at a press conference on the BRICS Urbanisation Forum to be hosted by the Ministry in Delhi on June 11-12.He said wherever there was a requirement, the government could take back its land. The Delhi Gymkhana Club has been asked by the Union Urban Affairs Ministry on May 22 to hand over its premises by June 5 as the 27.3-acre plot was required for “strengthening and securing defence infrastructure”.The club stands adjacent to the Prime Minister’s residence on the Lok Kalyan Marg in the national capital.The premises, located in a highly sensitive and strategic area of Delhi, is critically required for the strengthening and securing of defence infrastructure and other vital public security purposes, an order, issued by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry said.The club has operated from the location since 1913 and the present buildings were constructed in the 1930s. Pre-independence it was called the Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club and after Independence, it was renamed Delhi Gymkhana Club.It stands on one of the city’s most valuable and strategically important areas, within the high-security administrative zone that houses several key central government and defence establishments. Published - June 01, 2026 07:48 pm IST