Park metro rakes under racecourse
By Ravikiran Deshmukh
MUMBAI MIRROR
3-08-2010
MMRDA MOOTS RADICAL IDEA FOR BANDRA-COLABA METRO LINE:
The Mahalaxmi racecourse, battling for survival because its lease with the BMC is fast running out, has more eyes targetting the prime open land it occupies in the heart of the city.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), in-charge of Metro rail construction, has told the state government that it wants to build an underground carshed below the racecourse's stables.
The MMRDA has submitted a proposal saying there is no room for an alternative location for its proposed Colaba-Bandra line because of a space crunch in South Mumbai.
Its plan entails asking the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) to shut its stables while construction is going on in the 54-acre area, a request that could stop all racing in Mumbai for a period of 2-3 years.
MMRDA, however, is saying they will try that the stables are closed only partially, so that racing can continue. "We had a meeting today and the MMRDA has requested the BMC that the racecourse land should not be leased to any third party," T C Benjamin, principal secretary of the Urban Development department, told Mumbai Mirror. "We’ll conduct a site inspection next Monday. The BMC will now have discussions with RWITC."
The MMRDA is ready to give a written assurance to the RWITC that it will not take any overground area, and that it will finish the construction work within a stipulated time.
But when contacted, RWITC chairman Vivek Jain said the idea of having a carshed under the stables seemed unviable. “It will be too early to come out with a clear-cut stand, however. We have not received any concrete idea from the authorities so far,” he said.
A carshed is essentially an area used for servicing and parking rakes when not in use. The 23-acre shed in D N Nagar for the first metro line from Versova to Ghatkopar will also house the main control room for the corridor.
MMRDA has identified 1,045 acres of land across Mumbai as possible Metro and monorail carshed sites. The RWITC, which has already got two eviction notices from the BMC over alleged violations of its lease contract, has been flirting with danger for several years now.
Created out of marshy land known as Mahalaxmi Flats back in 1883, the 225-acre area was once dismissed as a wasteland. Now a prime location in the middle of the city with an estimated worth of Rs 2.5 lakh crores back in 2006, it is now on the radar as a key redevelopment location.
Horse racing is passing through a difficult phase all over the country. The state government of Karnataka has set a precedent by asking the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) to find a new address, a decision that was backed by the High Court.
The RWITC’s lease with the BMC is expiring in December 2013. No decision has been taken on whether the corporation will give the race course an extension after that.
