Human rights commission raps state for not renewing lease of Mahalaxmi racecourse land

The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has pulled up the state government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their failure to renew the lease of a 220-acre land in Mahalaxmi, which houses the racecourse and gymnasiums, for the last nine years

The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has pulled up the state government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their failure to renew the lease of a 220-acre land in Mahalaxmi, which houses the racecourse and gymnasiums, for the last nine years.

Mumbai, India - December 07, 2022: A worker waters the racecourse lawn while the city is engulfed in smog amid hazy weather, at Mahalaxami, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, December 07, 2022. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

It took suo motu cognisance of a news report that said the lease which had expired in 2013 was yet to be renewed and this was causing a revenue loss to the civic body and the state exchequer.

The commission directed the chief secretary, the principal secretary with the urban development department (UDD), and the BMC commissioner to file their replies, explaining the delay and the steps taken to renew the lease, detailing the losses, and naming the officials responsible for the inaction, by February 3.

The next hearing has been scheduled for February 17.

Advocate Hemant Haryan, representing the state, recently told a bench of MSHRC chairman, justice KK Tated, and member, Bhagwantrao More, that an affidavit had been filed by Shankar Jadhav, deputy secretary with UDD. It said since the issue was of a civil/contractual dispute between the BMC and a private institution that was managing the racecourse, the state should be exempted from charges of human rights violations.

The affidavit was filed on behalf of the chief secretary, the additional chief secretary with the revenue department, and the principal secretary with the UDD, Haryan said.

The bench was also told that steps had been taken to amend the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act 1988 with regards to the 220 acres of land since 2014 and several government resolutions had been issued to decide on the rent/compensation for the renewal of the lease. The UDD had been following up the issue with the BMC, except during the lockdown period on account of the pandemic, it added.

The bench expressed dismay at the casual approach of the UDD towards the land in question. “The present case involves about 220 acres in the heart of the city. Today, the land is in possession of a particular institution who doesn’t pay a single penny but the deputy secretary makes a statement that it is about a civil/contractual dispute between two parties. He forgot that it was public land and not a private property.”

It also said though the issue had been pending since 2013, citing Covid-19 as a reason for the delay “shows that they (officers) don’t bother if the government property is used by someone without paying a single paisa”.