Mumbai, March 11 – Notwithstanding opposition from the Shiv Sena-UBT, the Maharashtra cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on Monday cleared the development of a Central Park on 120 acres of the total 211 acres of the Mahalaxmi Race Course.
The proposed Central Park will be of international standards, and on the lines of such parks in New York and London.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the government will hand over the plot to the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) which will be the nodal development agency.
The cabinet’s approval came days after the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) gave its nod to the BMC’s proposal to convert the Mahalaxmi Racecourse into a theme park.
The BMC had offered to renew the turf club’s lease, which expired in 2013, for a 30-year period if the RWITC hands over half of the 211 acres of land it possesses.
The cabinet has approved granting a lease of 91 acres of land to RWITC for a further period of 30 years from the date of actual possession and renewal of the said lease per the provisions prescribed from time to time.
The agreement on the leased plot was approved for renewal from June 1, 2013, to the date of actual possession of the plot.
As per Monday’s cabinet decision, the difference in the amount payable for the said period will be recovered by the BMC as per the rate fixed by the state Revenue and Forest Department.
Shiv Sena-UBT leader and former Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray had earlier alleged that the state government’s move to redevelop a part of the Mahalaxmi Race Course was a land grab deal, adding that his party would not allow the government to hand over the land to builders.
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