Top News

New Delhi: The Delhi Gymkhana Club management assured concerned employees on Monday that their jobs were secure and that the club would not close immediately, days after the Centre directed the iconic institution to vacate its premises in Lutyens’ Delhi by June 5.

This reassurance came amid growing anxiety among nearly 600 employees, many of whom reported they had received no formal updates regarding the club’s future, salaries, or potential relocation plans since the government’s order was issued last week.

On Monday morning, a group of employees gathered at a small shrine, belonging to ‘Pir Baba’, located opposite the club’s exit gate, praying for a favourable outcome as fears over livelihoods and job security deepened inside the century-old institution.

Soon after the visit to the shrine, the staff said they were informed by members of the general committee that legal and administrative efforts were underway to protect staff interests.

“We received a call from club president Malay Sinha and director Kuldeep Chahal during the day. They assured us that our concerns had been conveyed to the government through a special written note and that discussions were underway. They said that the highest priority was being given to staff welfare to ensure that no employee suffered any adverse consequences,” Nandan Singh Negi, president of the Gymkhana Employee Welfare Association, told PTI.

Negi added that the club management also assured employees that the club would not shut down on June 5 and that their jobs were secure.

Decades of service spanning generations

Employees expressed that many had dedicated decades to working at the club and feared an abrupt end to their lifelong association.

“Generations have worked here. Some employees’ children were born and raised around this institution. Such an old association cannot just end in one day. Our fight is for survival; we have families, parents, and households dependent on us,” a worker said.

Some long-term staff members alleged that employee welfare measures had weakened over recent years after government-appointed members joined the club’s general committee.

“Earlier, there was mutual understanding between management and staff. But things have only gone downhill in recent years. Some employees have not received their dearness allowance since 2022, bonuses have been reduced, gratuity has been cut, and the retirement age has been lowered from 62 to 60,” an employee claimed.

A 41-year veteran of the club, who is due to retire next year, said that younger employees were particularly distressed. “We are close to retirement anyway, but younger employees are worried about what will happen to them and their families,” he said.

Workers also pointed to the club’s longstanding sporting infrastructure and questioned the rationale behind the sudden takeover.

“We have tennis grass courts, hard courts, a swimming pool and large sports infrastructure. If the government wanted to expand sports infrastructure, why was nothing done in the last five years?” an employee asked, referring to the period since the National Company Law Tribunal-appointed administrators took charge.

Sleepless nights for employees

Employees described an atmosphere heavy with panic and constant speculation, with many saying they first learnt about the development through news reports and frantic conversations among members rather than through official channels.

“We were not formally informed about the closure. That day, suddenly, all the members’ phones started ringing. By night, more members began arriving at the club to discuss the order. We only learned about it through phone calls, news reports, and conversations with others. Since that day, many of us have not slept well. We have families to care for and households to run,” a club employee said.

The Land and Development Office under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry had directed the club to hand over its 27.3-acre premises by June 5, stating that the land was required for “urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure and public interest project,” including strengthening defence-related infrastructure.

Despite the reassurances, several employees noted that no written communication guaranteeing job security had been issued yet. They are also considering legal action if clarity regarding compensation and rehabilitation is not provided soon.

“We will wait till tomorrow, and then we may also move the court. Our first demand is job security. If anything happens, employees should at least get compensation,” a staff member said.

Delhi Gymkhana Club moves HC

The development comes as the Delhi Gymkhana Club moved the Delhi High Court, challenging the Centre’s directive to vacate the premises. The matter was mentioned before Justice Avneesh Jhingan by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who sought an urgent hearing. The court agreed to hear the case on May 26.

Vijay Khurana, a 79-year-old Gymkhana Club member who filed the first lawsuit, said that the “vague and generalised reasons” of defence infrastructure and security given by the Centre were just a “sham” and the move was an “attempt to effect forced eviction” instead of following the due process of law.

The takeover is through a “premeditated and coordinated design” and not for any “genuine or emergent public requirement”, the plea claimed.

Khurana said more than 500 members of the Delhi Gymkhana Club supported the lawsuit.

It seeks to restrain the Central government from “illegally determining” the Gymkhana Club’s perpetual leasehold rights and to prevent any forced dispossession from the historic premises situated on 2, Safdarjung Road, adjacent to the prime minister’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg.

The lawsuit said urgent interim protection was necessary in this case, claiming that the Centre has “threatened” to take possession of the plot of land on June 5 through “coercive measures” and police assistance, which will result in an “irreversible” and “irreparable” situation.

In the lawsuit, Khurana emphasised that the Delhi Gymkhana Club and its members have invested substantial resources towards the development, maintenance and modernisation of the club, and the Centre was seeking to dismantle its institutional existence and irretrievably extinguish the “valuable associational, participatory and membership rights accrued over decades”.

He also claimed that the Centre’s notice, dated May 22, is malicious and neither provides for any compensation nor does it establish a “bona fide public purpose” in terms of the perpetual lease deed to unilaterally extinguish “century-old” rights.

The Delhi Gymkhana Club stands on one of the city’s most valuable and strategically important land parcels, within the high-security administrative zone that houses several key central government and defence establishments.

Founded during the British era, the club began functioning at the site in 1913 under the moniker of ‘Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club’. It was renamed the Delhi Gymkhana Club after India gained Independence, while the existing structures were constructed in the 1930s.