Gymkhana Club For The 'Super Rich': The Waitlist And What It Costs To Be A Member

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Delhi's elite Gymkhana Club and its 600-member staff is staring at a possible closure after the Central government ordered the club to vacate the premises by June 5. The order was issued by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry.

It said that the 27.3-acre land in Lutyens' Delhi was required for“urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure and public interest project,” and strengthening defence-related infrastructure. It further stated that“the premises shall be taken over by the Land and Development Office on June 5.”

Amid the Centre's takeover plans, there has been a sudden interest and talks on the membership of the Gymkhana – that the club caters only to the“super-rich”.

A member of the Delhi Gymkhana Club countered the perception and said nearly half the permanent members are from the armed forces and bureaucracy who use the space after retirement.

“The first issue I think mostly is that we have to bust the myth that Gymkhana Club belongs to super-rich people with big cars or a lot of money, which is a total myth. The permanent members, 50% are armed forces, retired personnel. Then there are the bureaucrats. The bureaucrats who have made the policy decisions. They are the ones who, after retirement, are sitting here having a cup of tea in this open environment,” Rumnita Mittal, a member of the Club, told ANI.

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One of the oldest clubs in India, the Delhi Gymkhana Club moved to its present location on 3 July, 1913. The club was then called the“Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club” and Mr. Spencer Harcourt Butler was its first President. It was made to serve to serve colonial administrators and military officers.

After India's independence, the word“Imperial” was dropped and it became“Delhi Gymkhana Club”.

According to several reports and perception, the entry into the club was a matter of one's riches. The wait time was even bigger. Some reports suggested that it would stretch to as long as 30-40 years.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs had started a probe into the functioning of the club in 2017 after complaint by four of its members. In April 2020, the ministry moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to seek control over the management of the 107-year-old institution.

In its petition, the ministry alleged that the club had been charging an exorbitant amount of ₹1 lakh as its application fee. However, there was no guarantee of a membership even after 20 to 30 years. During its probe, the ministry found that the utility charge for the government officials had risen from ₹5,000 to ₹1.5 lakh and for non-government candidates, it was ₹7.5 lakh.

After securing membership, government members are required to pay ₹5 lakh, while non-government members must pay ₹22 lakh

In 2020, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had placed the elite club under the scrutiny of the Centre, citing irregularities.

The NCLT had then said,“Under the garb of distinctive character of the club which is a relic of the imperial past, the doors for membership are virtually limited to people having blue blood in their veins thereby perpetrating apartheid and shattering the most cherished constitutional goal of securing social justice and equality of status and opportunity.”

(With agency inputs)

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