Mahalaxmi Racecourse can coexist with Mumbai Eye theme park: City guardian minister | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: The Mahalaxmi Racecourse can coexist with an amusement park proposed on the BMC portion of the land, with a tunnel connecting the park with the Coastal Road, said Mumbai city guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar on Wednesday. This is the first time someone with governing authority has mentioned coexistence for the racecourse and the proposed park. Till now, talk had revolved around moving the racecourse outside the city, with the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray government pushing for a theme park in the entire racecourse space.
Kesarkar said that while “the elite” come to watch races at the racecourse, ordinary people too deserve entertainment. “An amusement facility like the proposed Mumbai Eye (a Ferris wheel along the lines of the London Eye) could be considered on the BMC portion of the racecourse land without shifting the racecourse,” he said.
Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Rais Shaikh said, “While opening the racecourse land to the general public, rather than a select class, is welcome, whether or not an amusement park should be set up there is debatable. This is a large open space, which some would like to be left open to sky.”
Racecourse only venue in city where model planes are flown
On Mumbai city guardian minister Deepak Kesarkar’s contention that “the elite” come to watch races at the Racecourse and a facility was needed for ordinary people, a member of the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) disputed that the facility was for the elite, emphasising that every day, around one lakh people use the racecourse’s walking track, and also the grounds for yoga and other physical activities. The Racecourse with its uninterrupted span of open area is also the only venue in the city where hobbyists fly model planes.
Earlier this year, the BMC planned to seek its share of the 226-acre racecourse land from the state government to develop the proposed park. The BMC’s share of the land is 30%, with the rest owned by the state. Before 2023, the BMC had written to the state government about its theme park plan, but had never sought land ownership segregation. The first lease agreement was made between the civic body and the RWITC for 30 years, which was renewed in 1964 for another 30 years. In 1994, the lease was renewed for 19 years. It expired in May 2013, following which the lease was not renewed. The RWITC has continued to operate the racecourse, paying lease arrears without the agreement’s renewal.
Kesarkar said the Coastal Road project has reclaimed around 275 acres from the Arabian Sea, and a large part of that is proposed to be used for several recreational spaces, including cycling tracks, jogging tracks, amphitheaters, biodiversity parks and a butterfly garden. The timeline set for completing such work is 2025-end.
In May, after the MMDRA invited applications from consultants for a preliminary study on the traffic and environmental impacts of the proposed Mumbai Eye project at Bandra Reclamation, locals led by BJP MLA Ashish Shelar opposed it.
Shelar, along with a delegation of locals, met the then MMRDA chief SVR Srinivas and demanded that the project be moved out of Bandra Reclamation since such a facility would lead to traffic congestion given the lack of parking facilities in the area.