The Delhi High Court has questioned the Centre's move to take over nearly 200-year-old properties, including the iconic Delhi Gymkhana Club, Delhi Race Club, and Jaipur Polo Grounds, purportedly for 'public purpose'.
A vacation bench of justice Neena Bansal Krishna observed that these heritage and open spaces serve as vital 'breather' for Delhi residents in a city grappling with pollution, and replacing them with high-rise structures could cause the Capital to 'suffocate' and eventually render it unfit for its inhabitants.
The court remarked, 'What are you going to do with all these heritage structures? Even Gymkhana is a heritage structure. What are you going to do? Make 20-storey buildings? Delhi will suffocate. You do all that you want to. [That area] is a little breather we have. That is all also going to go. All of us will suffocate and die.'
The court also questioned the timing of the government's decision, asking why the need to take over these properties that had remained in existence for centuries without any such intervention.
The observations were made while the court was hearing a petition filed by the Indian Polo Association (IPA) challenging an eviction order issued on May 20 under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act.
