Marine Lines gymkhanas seek stamp duty relief, lower lease hike, FSI benefits

During a meeting with the collector on Friday, PJ Hindu gymkhana, Parsi gymkhana, Islam gymkhana and Catholic gymkhana assured that they would abide by a 2025 GR on providing 5% membership to IAS and grade-I officers

Mumbai: Four gymkhanas in Marine Lines have sought a clutch of concessions from the city collector, including relief in stamp duty valuation, lower lease rent hikes and access to development rights.

On Friday, the four gymkhanas submitted a joint letter to the additional district magistrate, seeking reduction in stamp duty valuation based on the actual constructed and built-up area rather than the entire leasehold area including large sports grounds (HT Photo)

During a meeting with the collector Anchal Goyal on Friday, the four gymkhanas – PJ Hindu gymkhana, Parsi gymkhana, Islam gymkhana and Catholic gymkhana – also assured that they would abide by a 2025 government resolution (GR) on providing membership to Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers and grade-I officers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and state government such as assistant municipal commissioners, chief engineers, and deputy municipal commissioners including GST, income tax and customs officers.

Advocate Yusuf Abrahani, president of Islam Gymkhana, said that during the meeting, the authorities flagged concerns about some institutions not extending the mandated 5% quota to IAS officers under the 2025 GR.

“Their main contention was that the 5% membership wasn’t being granted to IAS and grade-I officers and only IPS officers were getting membership. We said we have given more than 5% membership to all concerned officers and submitted our list,” Abrahani told Hindustan Times.

On Friday, the four gymkhanas submitted a joint letter to the additional district magistrate, Bappasaheb Thorat, seeking reduction in stamp duty valuation based on the actual constructed and built-up area used for administrative and member facilities, rather than the entire leasehold area including large sports grounds.

“The institution incurs significant costs in maintaining sports grounds and employs over 10 staff members for their upkeep. Considering its charitable, sports-promoting and public-serving role, appropriate relief and concessions should be granted. Directions may also be issued to ensure smooth completion of lease agreements for our institution and other similarly placed gymkhanas facing comparable challenges,” the joint letter to Thorat said.

Abrahani said the stamp duty demand from Islam Gymkhana alone was more than ₹4 crore.

“We cannot afford to pay such a huge amount as we are not a wealthy gymkhana. We told them the policy needs to change because as per the stamp duty policy, the value of a property is ascertained by including the area of grounds and vacant spaces. They said they will consider it,” Abrahani said.

The four gymkhanas have sought a reduction in the annual lease escalation from 4% to 2%, arguing that a lower hike would help sustain operations and support their role in sports promotion, community engagement and public welfare.

They have also sought permission to utilise the balance Floor Space Index (FSI) available on their leasehold plots, subject to applicable Development Control Regulations and statutory approvals. Access to unused FSI would enable the gymkhanas to upgrade their sports infrastructure, improve member amenities and create public-oriented facilities without altering the institutions’ core purpose, representatives of the gymkhanas said.

Advocate Joaquim Reis, president of the Catholic Gymkhana, confirmed that they had submitted suggestions to the additional district magistrate regarding review of lease rent escalation and stamp duty.

“We are already providing more than 5% membership to IAS and grade-I officials,” Reis said, referring to concerns of compliance with the 2025 GR.

A Hindu Gymkhana board member maintained that compliance with the 5% membership clause was not an issue for the four Marine Lines gymkhanas.

“Earlier too, our lease agreements mandated that 5% of the total membership must be provided to service members. All four gymkhanas are doing that. Perhaps, some other gymkhanas and clubs are not following the norm, so the concern was flagged by authorities,” the member said, requesting anonymity. At the Hindu Gymkhana, a six-member team had checked the records and balance sheets to ensure compliance with the 5% membership norm, he added.

According to the board member, the collector’s office was currently gathering inputs to frame revised policy clauses for gymkhanas and clubs, as the earlier 2017 GR was modified through the 2025 GR.

“According to the draft order, of which we have a copy, the stamp duty registration charges are ₹4 crore. We are sports institutions and not commercial establishments with commercial activities,” the HIndu Gymkhana member said.

During Friday’s meeting, the gymkhanas sought a new policy based on the 2025 GR, the member said. The issue of revenue sharing also came up during discussions, with gymkhana representatives arguing that any revenue-sharing mechanism should apply only to events conducted on open grounds and not to functions organised by members within existing indoor premises.

Additional district magistrate Bappasaheb Thorat was not available for comments.