New Delhi, May 24 -- The Union government has ordered the Delhi Gymkhana Club to hand over its 27.3-acre premises at 2, Safdarjung Road to the Land & Development Office (L&DO) by June 5, invoking a public purpose clause in the original lease deed. The order, issued on Friday and signed by deputy land and development officer Suchit Goyal, describes the premises as falling within a "highly sensitive and strategic area" of the capital and says they are critically required for strengthening defence infrastructure and public security purposes. "The land is essential to fulfil urgent institutional needs, governance infrastructure, and public-interest projects, integrated with the resumption of adjoining government lands," stated the order by the L&DO, which falls under the housing and urban affairs ministry. Nestled in the heart of Lutyens' Delhi, the sprawling Delhi Gymkhana Club stands adjacent to the prime minister's residence on Lok KalyanMarg. The club was founded in 1913 as the Imperial Delhi Gymkhana Club, renamed after Independence, and is today among the country's oldest elite institutional clubs....