RWITC okays govt’s bid for 120-acre racecourse land

The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) has passed a proposal by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to hand over part of its racecourse land for a theme park. The proposal received 540 votes in favour and 168 against. In return, the BMC has offered to renew the turf club's lease until 2053 and provide concessions such as building new stables and assisting with regulatory permissions. The reclaimed land will be used to construct a theme park and connect it with a coastal road garden.

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In return BMC has offered to renew turf club’s lease till 2053

MUMBAI: After a heightened fuss to reclaim a part of Mahalaxmi Racecourse land to create a theme park, the state government can now celebrate its win. As mandated by law, an Extraordinary General Meeting was convened by the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) to seek its members’ consent for the well-documented Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) proposal, which was eventually passed by a majority on Tuesday.

Out of 1718 voting members of the club, only 708 cast their ballot and the proposal received 540 votes in favour while 168 were against it.

The civic body has offered to renew the turf club’s lease, which expired in 2013, for a period of 30 years if the RWITC hands over more than half of the 211-acre land parcel it has in its possession. According to the proposal floated by BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal -- ­­backed by chief minister Eknath Shinde and his cabinet members -- RWITC would hand over 120 acres of an already marked racecourse land to the municipal corporation.

The BMC proposes to use the reclaimed land for the construction of a theme park on the 73-acre plot, which lies in the centre of the racecourse. It also plans to demolish the existing stables situated on 30 acres and use that area to connect the theme park with the adjoining 176-acre coastal road garden, which is nearing its completion.

Following the go-ahead given by RWITC members, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is expected to be signed between the BMC, state government and the turf club. As per the MoU, the racecourse lease will be renewed till 2053. The RWITC can continue to conduct horse-racing on the existing race-track. The theme park will be built in a manner that it will give the spectators an unrestricted view of the sport. BMC has also assured the club that it would bear the entire construction cost of around ₹100 crore for new stables, which will be built on a site adjacent to the old ones.

Apart from these concessions, the BMC has offered to vacate the squatters from the racecourse and rehabilitate them elsewhere. The RWITC also expects the government to slash its annual racing license fees which could ease the club’s financial burden. Furthermore, the BMC would grant RWITC the permission to build a club house on the allocated land and also assist them in securing permissions from state regulatory authorities, wherever required, for the smooth conduct of the club’s administration and the sport.

Speaking to HT after the meeting, Surendra Sanas, RWITC’s chairman said, “We are obviously happy that the members have given their consent for this proposal and we thank them for demonstrating their faith in the managing committee. The next challenge before us is the execution of the proposed MoU and to secure the renewal of the lease. We remain confident about achieving the tasks ahead of us.”