MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Wednesday criticised the Mahayuti government over its recent policy on giving permission to construct five-star hotels and malls on land previously reserved strictly for sports.
The Thackeray camp, in a scathing editorial in the party's mouthpiece 'Saamana', alleged that it was a systematic effort to "swallow" Mumbai’s recreational and sports plots for commercial gain. It has accused the state government of circumventing Supreme Court mandates to facilitate backdoor deals with builders, threatening the city's dwindling open spaces.
Under the guise of creating 'Integrated Sports Complexes', the government has reportedly amended the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR). The policy has proposed a land use split formula where 70 per cent of the land remains for sports, while 30 per cent is allocated for commercial use. The policy applies to open spaces exceeding five hectares in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and ten hectares across the rest of Maharashtra, said the editorial.
The Thackeray camp has labelled the initiative a "Builder Sports Policy", claiming it serves as a formula for corruption rather than athletic development. “There are concerns that the 30 per cent commercial allowance will result in 100 per cent of the profits flowing to contractors and political partners, with builders eventually seizing the remaining 70 per cent of the land, ” it said.