The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s land-use decisions have come under renewed scrutiny after civic records were found to show that reservations on 17 land parcels across Mumbai had been altered over the past four years. The affected land parcels had included areas earlier earmarked for gardens, recreation spaces, natural open spaces, public amenities, the Byculla zoo, a portion of the Mahalaxmi Racecourse and salt pan land. A significant number of the changes were reported to have taken place between 2023 and 2025. During this period, the BMC had been functioning without an elected general body after municipal elections were deferred in 2022 and the civic administration was placed under appointed officials.
The details were provided by the civic administration to Congress leader and senior corporator Ashraf Azmi after information had been sought in April. According to the records, eight of the 17 plots had originally been reserved for gardens, recreational facilities or natural open spaces. The remaining parcels had been designated for public amenities, including schools, hospitals, municipal offices, transport depots and asphalt plants.
Under the Development Plan framework, reservation changes are permitted when required. However, the frequency and nature of the modifications have been questioned, particularly because several of the affected properties are situated in commercially valuable areas of Mumbai. Among the prominent changes, a portion of the Mahalaxmi Racecourse was reported to have been changed to a commercial zone in October 2024. In Byculla, a plot reserved for the expansion of the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo was changed to a residential zone in February 2024.
Other modifications were also recorded. A salt pan parcel in Mazgaon was changed in April 2026 for a VVPAT storage facility and government office. In Dahisar, a recreational plot was changed in January 2026 to facilitate a community hall. In Nahur, land that had earlier been reserved as a recreation ground was changed to an aviary or bird park in April 2025.
The changes involving the Racecourse and zoo land were specifically questioned by Azmi. He was reported to have said that the government had maintained that the Racecourse ground would be made available to the public as an accessible open space and that development would not be permitted there. The reservation change was therefore questioned in that context. The change involving land reserved for zoo expansion was also questioned. The BMC’s Development Plan department, however, clarified that an alteration in reservation did not automatically mean that the land would be handed over to a private party. A senior official was reported to have said that reservations could be modified from time to time to ensure that the city’s overall land bank remained appropriately distributed. Further changes could also be made in the long term if required.
The developments have placed renewed focus on how Mumbai’s limited land resources are being reserved and subsequently reclassified, particularly where public spaces and civic amenities are concerned.