No hotel, only park at racecourse, says CM Shinde

This announcement came after the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) decided to hand over 120-acre of 227-acre racecourse land to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for developing the theme park. Shinde said the it would come up like central park in New York

Mumbai: Chief minister Eknath Shinde during (in) the state assembly on Friday, said that the proposed theme park (at) Mahalaxmi racecourse is coming up on 320-acre (320 acres) of land. The CM said that they will use 120-acres (no hyphen) from the racecourse and another 200-acres from the land reclaimed for the coastal garden for the central theme park, adding that no development would take place on the racecourse, and it would remain an open space.

CM Eknath Shinde said that no development would take place on the racecourse, and it would remain an open space. (Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times)

This announcement came after the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) decided to hand over 120-acre of 227-acre racecourse land to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for developing the theme park. Shinde said the it would come up like central park in New York.

“As much as 120-acre land from the racecourse and another 200-acre land parcel from the coastal highway will be taken for this project. Combined the central theme park will be developed on 320-acre land,” he said in his reply to last week’s motion brought up by the opposition for discussion in the state assembly on Friday.

Refuting allegations of land grab under the garb of development, the CM also said that no development will take place at the racecourse. “No hotel or anything of this sort will come up at the place. The racecourse will remain as it is. Mumbaiites will continue to get fresh air as the racecourse is the lungs of the city,” Shinde told the Lower House.

The chief minister also said that the Dharavi redevelopment project is the only housing project in the country where everyone will get their homes and the state government supports the project. “All the eligible tenants will be rehabilitated in Dharavi; the ineligible ones will get homes from the state. It is the first project where everyone will get their homes,” Shinde claimed.

The state government is supporting this project as they want the situation of Dharavi residents to be improved, said Shinde. “See in what condition people are living there? I don’t understand why some are unhappy when they are going to get redeveloped homes,” he said.

Meanwhile, terming the deep cleaning drive a success, Shinde said that the pollution in Mumbai was brought down, and NGOs and others have started participating in the drive. “It will not stop and will be extended to other parts of the state but in phases. Let them criticize but it will be continued,” he said.

He also announced plans to start an emergency response system for women wherein the police will reach them within five minutes. “We are working on a women’s response system in which if she sought help the police would reach in within five minutes.