Mumbai could lose football field, two gardens

To allow the reservations under the Development Plan (DP) 2034 to be altered, the civic body has moved separate proposals under Section 37(1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. The proposals will be tabled at the civic improvements committee meeting on Wednesday

MUMBAI: Space-starved Mumbai is set to lose even more public open space, of the little that’s left. The BMC has initiated steps to change the reservation on three plots – two in South Mumbai and one in Bandra – which would alter their status under the city’s Development Plan.

Mumbai, India. July 13, 2024. General Arun Kumar Vaidya Playground in Bandra West, Mumbai. July 13, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

If the proposal goes through, two plots in Malabar Hill reserved as gardens will be redesignated as “residential”, while a football field at Bandra Reclamation, in Bandra west, will lose ground to an exhibition centre.

To allow the reservations under the Development Plan (DP) 2034 to be altered, the civic body has moved separate proposals under Section 37(1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. The proposals will be tabled at the civic improvements committee meeting on Wednesday.

The two Malabar Hill plots together measure just 57.32 sq m, with individual areas of 15.89 sq m and 41.43 sq m. According to civic records, the applicant, through authorised signatory, had approached the state urban development department in February 2025, urging it to delete the garden/park reservation of the plots and restore them to residential use.

The BMC’s development planning department said that under the Revised Development Plan 1991, the plots were within the residential zone and not affected by any reservation. However, in DP 2034, they fell under the “garden/park reservation” as part of a larger reservation mapped on newly reclaimed land adjoining the site. The civic administration said the reservation intended for the adjoining reclaimed coastal land may have inadvertently extended onto these two plots.

The civic body further pointed out that since the combined area is less than 1,000 sq m, development under the adjustment reservation provisions of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034 is not feasible.

According to the BMC, the land is at present part of an access passage for adjoining properties and is being used for covered parking.

In a separate proposal, the BMC has initiated the process to redesignate a sports ground at Bandra Reclamation as an “exhibition centre”, reviving an old proposal for a convention complex at the site. DP 2034 currently designates the land as an existing amenity and reservation for “playground/sports ground.”

The land belongs to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and is being used as a football ground, with a turf facility operating on part of the site. The Mumbai Football Association has also been allotted the plot.

According to the proposal, MHADA’s vice-chairperson and chief executive officer wrote to the civic administration in November 2025, urging it to restore the original reservation as a “convention complex”.

The BMC’s development planning department said that under the original Bandra Reclamation layout approved in 1983, a large plot adjoining the Bombay Art Society had been earmarked for a convention complex spread across 2.58 hectares. However, while preparing DP 2034, the land was shown as a sports ground because it was functioning as a football field.

The BMC has concluded that the request is justified, because there is no convention centre facility in the surrounding area. Since DP 2034 does not contain a separate reservation category for “convention centre,” the civic body has proposed redesignating the land under the category.

If the proposal is passed, 6,897.4 sq m of sports ground amenity and 1,552.6 sq m of playground reservation would be removed, redesignating a total area of 8,450 sq m.

If cleared by the civic improvements’ committee on Wednesday, both proposals will be subject to the statutory process of inviting public suggestions and objections and conducting hearings before being forwarded to the state urban development department for final approval.