The plots, with a total area of 330,074 square metres, are spread across 11 civic wards and have remained under the control of various organisations for years, according to BMC data

Published on: Oct 3, 2026, 07:58:00 IST

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MUMBAI: In a city starved of open spaces, 20 BMC-owned plots earmarked as gardens, playgrounds and recreation grounds remain in the hands of private organisations, trusts and other agencies, as the civic administration awaits a new policy before beginning their repossession.

The plots, with a total area of 330,074 square metres, are spread across 11 civic wards and have remained under the control of various organisations for years, according to BMC data.

R South and P South wards, covering Kandivali and Goregaon, have three plots each, the highest among the city’s wards. D ward in south Mumbai has the largest area under private control, with two plots—Amarsons Udyan and Priyadarshini Park—together covering about 75,000 sq m. Priyadarshini Park alone accounts for 65,000 sq m.

The plots are categorised in civic records as recreation grounds, gardens, playgrounds or combinations of these. They are associated with organisations such as citizens’ forums, educational trusts, sports bodies and cultural associations.

An official from the BMC’s gardens department said the civic body had been unable to reclaim the plots because there was no policy governing the adoption of open spaces. “These plots have been in possession for the last 20 years, and the agencies that adopted them are reluctant to hand them over. This is a policy decision,” the official said.

According to the official, then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had directed in 2016 that the plots be repossessed in phases. The process, however, was put on hold as a new policy governing the adoption of open spaces was being prepared.

A decade later, the draft policy is ready, and the repossession process will begin once it is approved, the official said.

The delay is significant given Mumbai’s acute shortage of public open spaces. The BMC’s assessment during preparation of the Development Plan 2034 found that the city had only about 0.88 sq m of open space per person, according to city planners. This is well below the 10-12 sq m per capita recommended under the Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) guidelines for large cities.

Planners have said that although the shortage was recognised, DP 2034 did not adequately address it through measures such as reservation, acquisition, protection and augmentation of public open spaces.

Against this backdrop, civic activists have questioned why BMC-owned open spaces have remained with private organisations for so long and whether all such land is adequately protected and accessible to citizens.

Civic activist Reji Abraham, president of the United Association for Social Educational and Public Welfare Trust, alleged that this amounted to an “unwarranted loot” of public assets. He also alleged “continued commercial exploitation” of nearly 100 acres of BMC-owned open spaces by private agencies and other interests.

Abraham called for the BMC to disclose the status of every outstanding plot, set a time-bound repossession programme and publish details of commercial activities and revenues generated from the spaces.

“The question is not merely why these plots have not been reclaimed, but whether the civic administration has allowed private interests to continue benefiting at the expense of public access and accountability,” he said. “Public land must be reclaimed for the public, not kept available for private exploitation under the cover of administrative delay or policy changes,” he added.

However, some organisations in possession of the open spaces said their arrangements with the BMC predated the civic body’s adoption policy.

Susieben Shah, general secretary of the Malabar Hill Citizens Forum (MHCF), which manages Priyadarshini Park on Nepean Sea Road, said the organisation’s association with the 65,000 sq m open space dated back decades.

“Priyadarshini Park has been in our possession for 45 years, prior to 1985. The adoption policy came much later. We got it under a leave and licence agreement with the BMC,” she said.

Former MP Gopal Shetty, whose Poinsur Gymkhana manages two large open spaces—Swatantra Veer Savarkar Udyan in Borivali West and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Kridanagan in Kandivali West—said he had repeatedly asked the BMC to take them back.

“Over the last several years, I have been telling the BMC to reimburse us for the expenditure we have incurred on these two plots and take them back,” he said. “We had collected money from our members for their upkeep and also had to bear the cost of security. I have also written to civic commissioner Ashwini Bhide, requesting her to take back both plots.”

When contacted deputy municipal commissioner (gardens) Ajit Kumar Ambi, he said he was travelling and referred to superintendent of gardens Jitendra Pardeshi, who was unavailable for comment.

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