Willingdon Club members want GR on 50 complimentary slots withdrawn

Former BJP corporator Makrand Narwekar roped in to intercede with government; members claim free memberships will alter the club’s culture

Former BJP corporator Makrand Narwekar has been roped in by a few members of the Willingdon Sports Club to intercede with the government over the thorny issue of 50 complimentary memberships to be allocated as per the chief minister’s discretion at the time of the renewal of the club’s lease this year.

At present the club is not open to private life memberships and charges ₹1.75 crore for corporate memberships. (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

On Wednesday, Narwekar met some members of the club and also wrote to CM Eknath Shinde asking him to withdraw the Urban Development ministry’s March 18 government resolution. As per the GR, Mumbai’s priciest and oldest sports club, which fiercely guards its 53-acre enclave, will have to open membership to accommodate 50 new life members sent by the chief minister. In addition, they will also have to give membership to another three people on an annual basis and also give membership to any one person nominated by the municipal commissioner.

At present the club is not open to private life memberships and charges ₹1.75 crore for corporate memberships that extends to a maximum of two persons from each company and each corporate membership is for 10 years only.

If the GR goes unchallenged, said an old club member, it would set a troubling precedent and change the culture of the club. The club management has been in a roil trying to assess whether they can openly challenge the government, he added and requested that he not be named. Kanwal Bhagat, CEO of the Willingdon Club was unreachable for comment and his phone was switched off.

In his letter to Shinde, Narwekar said: “This GR sets a wrong precedent, pertains to Schedule W properties, but there is no guarantee that other clubs and gymkhanas in the city won’t face the same situation. Willingdon is more than a century-old club and to inject life members in such a place will disturb the cultural heritage and rich history of the club.”

According to BMC, among the approximately 160 properties covered by Schedule W of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act 1884, only two properties—the Mahalaxmi Racecourse and the Willingdon Sports Club—are classified as clubs and gymkhanas, affected by the new GR. Schedule W properties of the MMC Act are properties that were formerly owned by the Bombay Improvement Trust and which were subsequently transferred to BMC.

The GR for Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) has already been revised, removing the provision of life membership for bureaucrats but no such revision has yet been made in the case of the Willingdon Club leading to a furore in the usually-hushed corridors of the fru-fru clubs that continues to deny membership to anyone who is a film actor. In the early 1990s the club had famously denied entry to the artist MF Husain for walking in barefoot as it was against the dress code of the club.

“In the case of RWITC, club members have approved a plan for redevelopment and renewal of lease but no such decision has been taken by members of Willingdon club. The state’s policy to take free memberships and give lease renewal doesn’t sit well with citizens. Club members are disturbed by the reports of a (possible) sudden influx of new members with no prior screening, and citizens are thinking whether their club might be next. Such decisions can give the wrong impression about Mahayuti’s governance model and impact the mandate in 2024,” said Narwekar in his letter.

50 new life memberships will significantly alter the club’s demographic, Narwekar added and that it could potentially harm its historic and esteemed status. “Such a move could disrupt the club’s daily operations and could be seen as a form of takeover.”

While the club does not oppose nomination of new members to the club, they believe that these members should either be athletes or a clear criterion should be established by the government for appointing life members to these clubs, stated his letter. “The government’s decision should be put on hold until the cancellation of the GR is guaranteed and the criteria for nominating such individuals are finalised,” said Narwekar.

“The clubs are meant for culturally, educationally and intellectually similar people. They need not be rich or poor—that’s not the criteria. But that may not happen with 50 people that the CM nominates. They will be walking in with chappals or spit paan. They will stick out like sore thumbs in the club,” said another member who said he should not be named as the club rules disallow members from speaking to the media.