The Improvements Committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday, June 24, approved a proposal to amend the Development Plan (DP) 2034 and change the reservation of a plot at Bandra Reclamation. The proposal concerns an 8,450 square metre plot that is currently being used as a football ground.
The land is owned by the MHADA. A portion of the ground has a turf facility, and the plot has been allotted to the Mumbai Football Association. The current move will turn it into an exhibition and convention facility in the area. The BMC had begun the process of changing the land reservation earlier this year.
Under the proposal, the existing reservation of 6,897.4 square metres for a sports ground and 1,552.6 square metres for a playground will be removed. The entire 8,450-square-metre plot will be redesignated as an exhibition centre.
The civic administration informed the committee that the land was originally reserved for an exhibition centre under the 1983 Development Plan. The plot remained open land for several years and continued to be used as a football pitch. When DP 2034 was being prepared, the land was shown as a sports facility and reserved as a playground and sports ground.
Documents placed before the Improvements Committee showed that MHADA had written to the BMC in November 2025 seeking the land to be reserved for a convention complex. Bandra Reclamation was earlier part of the Bandra-Kurla Complex notified area under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). In 2015, the BMC became the planning authority for the locality.
As per sources, the original Bandra Reclamation layout approved in 1983 had earmarked a large parcel of land next to the Bombay Art Society for a convention facility spread across about 2.58 hectares. But since the site remained open and was being used as a football ground, it was shown as a sports ground in the draft DP 2034.
The development planning department reviewed Mhada's request and found merit in restoring the earlier reservation. Officials noted that there is no convention or exhibition facility in the surrounding area. Since DP 2034 does not contain a separate reservation category for a convention centre, the BMC proposed reserving the land as an exhibition centre instead.
The change requires an amendment to the approved Development Plan under Section 37(1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. The BMC will now invite public suggestions and objections and conduct hearings. After completing this process, the proposal will be forwarded to the state urban development department for final approval.
The proposal was debated during the committee meeting. Corporators from Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) questioned the decision to remove a sports reservation in an area that already has limited open spaces.
Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Vishakha Raut opposed the move and said the football ground's should be preserved. She stated that the ground has produced several football players over the years. Raut compared its role in football to the role played by Shivaji Park in cricket.