Delhi air force ground closure: Why govt is reclaiming prime Lutyens land near PM house including Race Club, Jaipur Polo Ground and Gymkhana Club

The closure of the Air Force Sports Complex in central Delhi marks the latest development in the government's efforts to reclaim prime land parcels around Lok Kalyan Marg, where several prominent sporting and recreational establishments have either been taken over or had their leases terminated. With the Delhi Race Club, Jaipur Polo Ground and Delhi Gymkhana Club also affected, questions are emerging over what the government intends to do with these properties.

The Air Force Sports Complex, which houses a golf course within the Air Force Station in the heart of New Delhi, was closed until further orders on October 28. The closure followed notices issued by the Land and Development Office (L&DO), under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, seeking the return of the land.

The development also disrupted the farewell event planned for Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, who is due to retire on October 31. The event was scheduled to be a traditional "golfing out", as the IAF chief serves as the patron-in-chief of the facility.


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Besides the golf course, the approximately 30-acre complex has other sporting facilities, a swimming pool and eateries. According to a 2024 Delhi High Court judgment, it is governed by a council of serving Air Force officers.

Delhi land reclamation: A series of takeovers near Lok Kalyan Marg

The closure is part of a wider exercise involving government land near the Prime Minister's residence on Lok Kalyan Marg, formerly known as Race Course Road. Several prominent properties in the area, which had been held under leases or occupied for decades, have come under the government's reclamation drive.

The properties affected include:

• Air Force Sports Complex: The approximately 30-acre facility was closed on October 28 after the L&DO issued notices seeking the return of the land.
• Delhi Race Club: The government took possession of its race track on August 27, following a notice issued in March.
• Jaipur Polo Ground: The Centre took possession of the ground on June 13 after the L&DO served a notice on the polo association in March.
• Delhi Gymkhana Club: Its lease was terminated by the government in May, with the L&DO citing the need for the land for institutional and public-interest purposes.

The government has not expressly announced the specific future use of these properties.

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Why is the government reclaiming these properties?

The government's clearest explanation came in May, when the L&DO terminated the Delhi Gymkhana Club's lease. In its communication, the office described the area as a "highly sensitive and strategic area" and said the land was required for "urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure and public-interest projects" that could be integrated with adjoining government land.

However, the Centre has not provided a detailed public plan specifying how each of the reclaimed properties will be used.

The land occupied by the Air Force has also been the subject of questions over its ownership and formal allotment. In a 2014 submission to the Central Information Commission, the Defence Estates Officer for Delhi stated that the Air Force occupied 126.948 acres of Urban Development Ministry land in the Race Course area.

Of the 100 acres allotted to the Defence Ministry in the area, only 52.80 acres had been formally transferred, according to the submission. The officer also stated that the sports complex was "apparently" located on Urban Development Ministry land under the occupation of the Air Force Station.

The Ministry of Urban Development has since become part of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, whose L&DO is overseeing the reclamation of the approximately 30-acre sports complex.

What does the government plan to do with the reclaimed land?

Despite taking possession of the Jaipur Polo Ground and Delhi Race Club and terminating the Delhi Gymkhana Club's lease, the government has not expressly outlined its plans for the individual properties.

Its stated position has centred on the strategic importance of the area and the need for institutional infrastructure and public-interest projects. The review of prime land parcels through the L&DO suggests a broader exercise involving properties near Lok Kalyan Marg.

The developments have also brought renewed attention to debates over the colonial-era origins of some of these sporting and recreational establishments, their commercial value and the strategic importance of the land they occupy.

With the Air Force Sports Complex now closed, the latest development adds another prominent property to the list of establishments affected by the government's land reclamation exercise in the national capital.