No plan to shift Mahalaxmi racecourse to Mulund: CM

There were reports of BMC asking RWITC to shift the racecourse, and the government was planning to build a garden and an amusement park at the place. The land is jointly owned by the state and BMC.

Mumbai: Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday told the assembly that Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had no proposal at present to shift Mahalaxmi racecourse to Mulund dumping ground.

The state government also said that BMC had awarded contracts for the concretisation of 397-km city roads and the average rate of the construction was ₹15.31 crore per km. The civic body issued a work order in January. (HT PHOTO)

The government had in November last year asked Royal Western India Turf Club Limited (RWITC), whose contract to run the racecourse ended in 2013, to submit an assurance deed to the civic body, he said. An assurance deed is an undertaking by the lessee that they would pay the pending dues.

There were reports of BMC asking RWITC to shift the racecourse, and the government was planning to build a garden and an amusement park at the place. The land is jointly owned by the state and BMC.

“A policy decision on the racecourse land will soon be taken and the process has been initiated for it. The proforma of the assurance deed has been handed to RWITC by BMC,” the CM said in a written reply to a question raised by MLAs Sunil Rane, Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal among others.

The government also told the house that there were 323 other plots whose lease had expired and the process to renew the contract in 89 of them had begun. The racecourse land comes under schedule W of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act.

Shinde said, “The state cabinet had in September 2016 decided to renew the schedule W properties after which BMC amended the Act. The state had in March 2017 announced a policy to renew the leases of such properties.”

CAG probe

In another reply, Shinde informed the assembly that it had sought the advocate general’s opinion after BMC sent a legal notice to Comptroller and Auditor General of India, which is probing the alleged irregularities in the ₹12,000 crore contracts given for setting up infrastructure during the pandemic.

The state government also said that BMC had awarded contracts for the concretisation of 397-km city roads and the average rate of the construction was ₹15.31 crore per km. The civic body issued a work order in January.