RWITC’s tussle with the government over land acquisition is not new.

The Mahalaxmi Racecourse which is situated across the Arabian Sea was built over a vast expanse of marshland spread over 211 acres when the then Bombay Turf Club shifted its operation from Byculla Racecourse. The construction of the new racecourse was possible due to the generosity of industrialist Sir Cusrow N Wadia, who provided a ₹5 lakh loan to the turf club.

RWITC, which enjoyed unfettered use of the Mahalaxmi Racecourse since it became operational in 1883, has been successful in fending off numerous attempts to divest it of the property’s possession in the last two decades. Politicians have eyed this huge land parcel in the heart of the city where real estate prices have skyrocketed over time.

First takeover bid

Interestingly, the first move to make “alternate” use of the racecourse land came in 2004 from the RWITC itself. In a bid to tide over the financial crunch it was facing, the cash-strapped club entered into a controversial deal with the Shobit Rajan-promoted Pegasus Infrastructure through which around 100 acres of the racecourse land was to be handed over to the developer, a part of which he would exploit commercially. Following an uproar by club members and green activists, the proposal fell through after the Bombay high court (HC) decided on the litigations and ordered a status quo. The HC also directed that there would be no new construction undertaken at the racecourse. But that didn’t stop politicians from eyeing the enviable land parcel occupied by the turf club. Shortly afterwards, in 2005, Ganesh Naik, environment and forest minister during the Congress–NCP rule, wanted the state government to sell the Mahalaxmi racecourse land and other such places in Mumbai in order to clear the state’s debt.

Land ownership

The racecourse land, two-thirds of which is owned by the Maharashtra government and the rest by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), was leased to RWITC for 99 years which expired in May 2013. Earlier, the periodic renewal of the lease never faced any hurdle until the newly-formed coalition between Shiv Sena (SS), which ruled at BMC, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition came to power in the state in 1995.

Soon, local politicians started reaching out to BMC to reclaim the racecourse land on one pretext or the other. After initial suggestions for a public garden, the demands varied from making the racecourse a hub for car-parking, an underground aquarium, an international theme park etc. Later, in 2009, even the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) wanted to construct an elevated corridor across the stables at Mahalaxmi to ease the traffic congestion likely to occur after the Bandra-Worli was thrown open.

In 2014, a few Sena leaders evinced interest to construct a memorial for its party’s late president, Balasaheb Thackeray. Ironically, chief minister Eknath Shinde was the opposition leader in the state assembly at the time. A senior Sena leader in the BMC had reportedly suggested then that the RWITC shift its racing activities to Pune as Mumbaikars lack a theme park of international standard, which should come up at Mahalaxmi. Only a year ago, the BMC had peddled the idea of shifting the racecourse to a defunct 65-acre dumping ground in Mulund. Impractical as it was, the plan received a quiet burial. RWITC managed to emerge unscathed from all these takeover bids.

Financial crunch

Meanwhile, apart from the betting tax hike, the RWITC saw a manifold increase in its racing license fee charged by the state government, which put an immense financial burden on the turf club. Following the demonetisation in 2016 and the levy of 28 percent GST on betting, the RWITC was financially crippled and on the verge of collapse. However, the magnanimous financial support by prominent members like Cyrus Poonawalla, Zavaray Poonawalla, Khushroo Dhunjibhoy, Vijay Shirke and several others helped the turf club steer through troubled waters.

In the light of these circumstances, the RWITC’s current nine-member managing committee and a majority of its members feel that the proposal from the BMC-state government is a blessing in disguise. Members have unanimously expressed that following the expiry of the lease in 2013 the RWITC has no legal right over the racecourse land and the club is actually a squatter. Therefore, if the RWITC parts with 120 acres as per the proposal, it is assured that there will be no hindrance to horse-racing at Mahalaxmi. Firstly, the pending lease issue gets sorted once for and all whilst there are other tangible benefits like the rationalisation of racing license fees, permission to build a club house, rehabilitation of the encroachers living on its premises etc, that would accrue to the club if the proposal is given a go-ahead by its members. In this context former RWITC chairman K N Dhunjibhoy said, “I believe the Maharashtra government has made a generous proposal to the RWITC to extend our lease for 30 years. We should go for it.”

However, those opposing the government, point to the ambiguity of its plan after demolishing the stables situated on 30 acres. Everyone fears it will be later exploited for real estate development. Since the government is proposing a theme park on 73 acres lying in the centre of the Mahalaxmi racecourse, they wonder for what purpose does the government want to use this 30-acre plot. BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has tried to allay these fears saying that the plot will be used to connect the theme park with the adjoining 176-acre proposed coastal road garden. The commissioner has also assured that no construction activity is planned on the land reclaimed from RWITC.

Meanwhile. Soon after Chahal’s reassurance to club members, a member from the Amateur Riders’ Club, whose existence is under threat if the proposed deal goes through, an environmental activist and an RWITC member filed separate writ petitions in the HC seeking a stay on the Extraordinary General Meeting (EoGM) and that the government be directed not to pass any order regarding its planned development at the racecourse. The petitioners claimed that the government’s plan, if implemented, would result in an environmental disaster as the racecourse is one of few open spaces left in the city.

Their apprehension about the Mahalaxmi racecourse land, considered the lungs of Mumbai, was not lost on the HC’s two-judge bench comprising Justice Gautam Patel and Justice Kamal Khata. Justice Patel reportedly remarked that the RWITC’s approval does not mean that its lease renewal is a done deal. Calling the petitions premature, the bench refused to interfere either with the RWITC EoGM or issue any directive to BMC and state government.

Indeed, there is a long way to go before anything concrete emerges for the club out of the latest proposal. It is clear that the existing stables cannot be demolished before new stables are constructed and, similarly, nobody is willing to guess how much time it would take for the BMC and state government to obtain the regulatory approvals from relevant authorities for various proposals that are cited in the prospective Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to be signed with the turf club.

Airing his views on the proposal, Surendra Sanas said, “Our discussion with the chief minister on December 6 was put before members as minutes of the meeting. It was impressed upon them that the club lease expired in 2013 and we have absolutely no say in any decision the BMC or the state may take in future about renewal of lease.”