Ford Foundation evicted from Lodhi Estate premises where it was based since the 60s

The Ford Foundation has reportedly been evicted from its Lodhi Estate premises in New Delhi, where it had operated since the 1960s. The Centre has allotted the space to two India-led international initiatives.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the Land and Development Office of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) initiated eviction proceedings in 2025 after the foundation’s lease for 55, Lodhi Estate ended. Officials said no forceful eviction was carried out as the foundation vacated the premises voluntarily.

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Sources told the daily that the Ford Foundation moved out in February this year and updated its office address to Level 8, DLF Centre, Sansad Marg, on its website in March.

On Monday, the Directorate of Estates under MoHUA allotted the ground and first floors of the former Ford Foundation office to the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) and the Global Biofuels Alliance, the report added.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the IBCA, a multi-country and multi-agency coalition, in 2023. It currently operates from a house in Shanti Niketan. The Global Biofuels Alliance was also launched by Modi during the New Delhi Leaders’ Summit of the G20 in 2023 and currently functions from Sanrakshan Bhawan in Bhikaji Cama Place.

The Ford Foundation’s headquarters at Lodhi Estate was designed by American architect Joseph Stein, who also designed the India Habitat Centre and India International Centre. The complex has also housed the United Nations and its agencies, which continue to occupy parts of it.

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The foundation established its New Delhi office in 1952 at the invitation of the Indian government and has been involved in development programmes since Independence, including agriculture and education initiatives.

It provided foundational grants to the Indian Institutes of Management in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata, and early support to IIT Kharagpur, the Indian Institute of Public Administration and Punjab Agricultural University.

The foundation also supported programmes including the Community Development programme, Intensive Agricultural Districts Programme, the beginnings of the Green Revolution and the self-help group movement.