Parks and recreation: Govt land should be deployed to expand green spaces

The Centre’s notice to the 113-year-old Delhi Gymkhana Club to vacate its premises by June 5 has rightly caused consternation among the capital’s elite. This institution, which counts senior government servants among its members, has been considered an integral part of a famously sylvan location in central Delhi. The order, which has been challenged at the Delhi High Court, can be questioned in terms of the ultra-short notice, which leaves unresolved how members, who typically pay hefty upfront annual fees, will be compensated. The explanation offered for such “re-entry”, as the Land and Development Office (L&DO) has described it, abruptly ending a lease that was granted in perpetuity, also appears disingenuous. The L&DO has said the land is located in a highly sensitive area and is needed to “fulfil urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure and public interest projects”. Assuming that the location’s sensitivity is linked to the Prime Minister’s residence, the argument is weak since the Prime Minister will shortly shift to a purpose-built residence in a new administrative hub.    

If the Delhi High Court follows the precedent set by a similar appeal by the Delhi Race Club and Indian Polo Association in March this year, the Delhi Gymkhana will likely obtain a stay order. It should be noted, however, that in the former case, the court did not dispute the eviction per se; it only stipulated that the L&DO follow “due process” in terms of giving the association concerned a reasonable period of notice before dispossessing it. The eviction notice, therefore, is still in place. 

In legal terms, the government is within its rights to reclaim or cancel leases granted in perpetuity. This apart, there is little logic for such private institutions, with restrictive membership rules, to exist on public land. There may be concern that such prime locations will be commandeered for institutional high-rises now dotting the Central Vista. Indeed, it would be a pity if that were the outcome. The government has access to land under the Delhi Development Authority should it want to expand office space. In terms of aesthetics and achieving the aim of delivering the public good, these central parcels, which total about 80 acres, would best be redeployed as green public parks and spaces, which Delhi’s 23 million citizens currently lack. Aside from small parks in residential colonies, Delhiites have access to only about 270 acres of public parks in the centre of the city. Compare this with New York’s iconic Central Park, which covers 843 acres for 19 million residents, and London’s Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, which together cover 625 acres, for nine million people. Even Kolkata offers its seven million people a 400-acre green lung in the famous maidan.  

There are apprehensions that these eviction notices might mark the start of similar action against such venerable institutions as the India International Centre and the India Habitat Centre. Their cases are not similar. Though both have membership schemes, they offer invaluable space for the public discourse and arts and entertainment, which are open to all. Depriving them of their locations will not serve the public purpose in the way that greater public access to the prime lands of the Delhi Gymkhana and the polo ground could.