BMC Delays Reclaiming 20 Private-Run Open Spaces Including Borivali West Park
Twenty civic-owned open spaces measuring 330,074 square metres across Mumbai, including Swatantra Veer Savarkar Udyan in Borivali West, remain under the control of private organisations as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation awaits an approved policy to begin repossessing them. The plots, earmarked as gardens, playgrounds, and recreation grounds, have stayed under private management for the past two decades across 11 municipal wards.
The highest concentration of these plots is in the western suburbs. R South ward in Kandivali and P South ward in Goregaon hold three plots each, while D ward in south Mumbai spans the largest area under private control, covering roughly 75,000 square metres across Amarsons Udyan and Priyadarshini Park on Nepean Sea Road. In civic records, the sites are classified as recreation grounds, playgrounds, gardens, or combinations thereof, and have been run by citizens' groups, sports organisations, educational trusts, and cultural bodies.
According to an official from the BMC gardens department, the civic administration has been unable to reclaim the plots because there is currently no policy governing the adoption of open spaces. The official noted that the agencies operating the spaces have held possession for 20 years and remain reluctant to surrender them. Although then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered phased repossession of the plots in 2016, the process was halted to draft a fresh policy. A draft adoption policy is now ready after a decade, and repossession is slated to begin once it receives formal approval.
The delay comes amid an acute scarcity of recreational land across the city. BMC assessments conducted during the preparation of the Development Plan 2034 showed that Mumbai offers just 0.88 square metres of open space per resident. This figure falls substantially below the 10 to 12 square metres per capita benchmark prescribed under the Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation guidelines for major urban centres. Planners noted that the DP 2034 failed to adequately resolve the issue through land reservation, acquisition, and protection.
Civic activist Reji Abraham, president of the United Association for Social Educational and Public Welfare Trust, alleged the situation represents an unwarranted loot and commercial exploitation of nearly 100 acres of public land. Abraham demanded that the civic body disclose the exact status of each plot, enforce a time-bound repossession schedule, and release figures on commercial revenues generated on these sites. He argued that public land should be reclaimed for citizens rather than left to private interests under administrative delays.
Meanwhile, organisations managing the properties maintain that their tenures predate the adoption policy. Susieben Shah, general secretary of the Malabar Hill Citizens Forum, said Priyadarshini Park has been under their possession for 45 years through a leave and licence agreement. In Borivali and Kandivali, former MP Gopal Shetty, whose Poinsur Gymkhana oversees Swatantra Veer Savarkar Udyan in Borivali West and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Kridanagan in Kandivali West, stated he has repeatedly urged the BMC to take the grounds back. Shetty said he has written to civic commissioner Ashwini Bhide asking the civic body to reimburse expenses incurred on member-funded maintenance and security and reclaim both sites.
When contacted regarding the issue, deputy municipal commissioner for gardens Ajit Kumar Ambi stated he was travelling and directed queries to superintendent of gardens Jitendra Pardeshi, who was unavailable for comment.
