The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) general body on Tuesday night cleared the proposal to change the reservation of the iconic Neville D’Souza football ground in Bandra to a convention and exhibition centre.

The BMC cleared the proposal amid objection from the Opposition which raised concerns over the city’s fast depleting open spaces.

Inaugurated in 2018, the one of Mumbai’s few dedicated football venues. In June, this year, the civic improvements committee cleared the proposal to change the reservation.


Nearly two months since the clearance, the chairperson of Improvement Committee, Sandhya Doshi floated a proposal before the civic general body where Mayor Ritu Tawde on Tuesday night cleared the move to change the ground’s reservation to make way for a convention and exhibition centre.

Seeking the ground’s protection, Congress corporator Raja Rahebar Khan said that he grew up playing football on the Neville D’souza ground — which is associated with over 200 football clubs.

“This is a crucial space of the locality where I grew up playing football since my childhood,” Raja Rahebar Khan, a local corporator said, adding, “If the records show that the entire 5 hectares of plot in the area is reserved as a convention centre on the DP, then why are you singling out this 8,000 square metres of this football ground.”

Defending the change of reservation, Mayor Tawde said that the proposal had already been discussed within the improvement committee.

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, the city’s depleting open spaces became subject of discussion with the Opposition calling for protection of Neville D’souza football ground.

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However, the Mahayuti ruling alliance defended the change of reservation.

Swapana Mhatre, BJP corporator from ward 100 said that the ground had been originally reserved as a convention and exhibition centre by the MHADA. “Originally reserved as a convention centre, the ground had fallen into a bad state owing to anti-social elements and the slums surrounding it. When guardian minister Ashish Shelar was the head of the football association he noticed its bad state and decided to create a boundary wall. The BMC in its DP 2034 mentioned that it should be a playground. However, the MHADA had reserved it as a convention centre and the process to change its reservation was never undertaken,” said Mhatre, adding that a new ground will be made available for footballers.

The civic body’s clearance of the ground reservation comes even as the decision has drawn flak from across quarters including football associations and local residents of the area.

̌Earlier in the month, the Mumbai District Football Association (MFA) also approached the Bombay High Court who have ordered the BMC as well as the state government to file a reply by August 24.