Centre asks ministries for details of clubs, institutes

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is reported to have begun an urgent review of all clubs, conference halls and events hosted by them in the national Capital

The Union government has sought from ministries details of the functioning of Gandhian institutes, clubs and conference centres, according to an official note.

The attachment for the clubs seeks to know whether the land was given on subsidised rates. (The Delhi Gymkhana Club. (HT archive))

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is reported to have begun an urgent review of all clubs, conference halls and events hosted by them in the national Capital.

In a communication that was sent by the top most office in the country to key officials including the home secretary and cabinet secretary, the PMO asked for a total list of events that have taken place in 2022 in these centres which have government aid or land to build the clubs.

According to the communication reviewed by HT, the officials have been given two days and were asked to submit a complete list by Wednesday evening.

HT contacted several officials who were marked on the email but it did not elicit the desired response as some said they were not aware of the development while others refused to comment.

The email from PMO’s deputy secretary Amarapali Kata sent on Monday evening said, “It is requested the information sought as attached me shared. Details related to the ministry/ institutions/ autonomous bodies of the ministry may be shared by 16 November, 5pm.’’

There are three attachments as referred to by the PMO officer which are Delhi clubs, conference halls in Delhi and Gandhian institutes.

The attachment for the clubs seeks to know “whether the land given on subsidised rates” and if so, the terms and conditions.

For conference centres, the government also sought to know details of all events held this year and the facilities provided in the conference centre.

A separate column is also there for the ministries that may be affiliated with the conference halls.

Similiarly, the attachment on the Gandhian institutes requires the officials to give details of types of courses that the insititute offers.

HT contacted home secretary Ajay Bhalla and I&B secretary Apurva Chandra with no response from the former while Chandra said he wasn’t aware of the same.

“We are likely to see 500 events from now till next year,’’ said an official, who didn’t want to be quoted.

“A bulk of them are in Delhi and so we will need a lot of spaces. There is work on since the past month and so this could be part of that”, he said.