00:00This place is what everyone's talking about.
00:04But right near the Prime Minister's residence, the government also wants the land back from the Delhi Race Club, the
00:09Jaipur Polo Ground and these slum clusters.
00:12So if you walk just 50 meters down this lane, you'll be able to see the Prime Minister's residence.
00:16And right where I'm standing, right in front is the Delhi Gymkhana and right opposite the Delhi Gymkhana is the
00:24Delhi Race Club and somewhere right here is the Jaipur Polo Ground.
00:28We'll speak to a defence expert to understand the possible strategic and security considerations behind the government's decision to seek
00:35the land back.
00:36This is one of the most sensitive patches of land in the country.
00:40Four days after completing its centenary, 100 years on Lok Kalyan Mark, the club got an eviction notice from the
00:46Land and Development Office.
00:47The land was never privately owned and the government argued that it had been leased to the Delhi Race Club.
00:52It maintained that the lease expired on December 31, 1994 and that the land should be returned to the government
00:57for a larger public purpose and benefit.
01:00On March 12, the Jaipur Polo Ground was served an eviction notice too.
01:03The ground management argued that they had already made lease payments up to March 2030.
01:08The centre, however, argued that the lease had expired in 1993 and the IEPA was merely a licensee with no
01:14right to remain.
01:15A few months before the Jaipur Polo Ground and the Delhi Race Club received eviction notices, people living in such
01:20juggy-jhope clusters near the Prime Minister's residence were also asked to vacate and were given government homes in North
01:26-West Delhi.
01:37Reported to be paying around Rs. 400 as a yearly rent, the Delhi Jim Khanna was asked to give back
01:42the 27.3-acre land near the PM's residence.
01:44According to the government, the land is critically required for strengthening defence infrastructure and other public security projects.
01:51It's just a stone's throw away from the Prime Minister's residence.
01:56It's possible that the government has taken over all of these properties for security reasons to create some kind of
02:02either a buffer zone or to expand its existing facilities given the fact that you have terrorism, unresolved borders with
02:10two neighbours.
02:11There is a certain level of threat that we need to factor into government buildings.
02:15There is a lot of things which will not be revealed in national interest.
02:20So all of this was government property to begin with and now the government wants it back.
02:25What do you feel about it? Let us know in the comments below.
02:28Law.
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