Plans to set up amusement park on Mahalaxmi Race Course: Kesarkar

Earlier this year, the state government had proposed setting up a “Mumbai Eye”, a replica of the popular tourist destination, “London Eye”, which is a giant observation wheel.

In April this year, the MMRDA had also floated a tender to appoint a consultant to carry out a feasibility study for this project.
“The proposed Mumbai Eye project could be set up on this land parcel. We are also eyeing another in which we aim to connect Mahalaxmi underground with the reclaimed portion of the Coastal Road where the BMC is creating 70 hectares of open space. This will lead to ease of access towards open spaces,” Kesarkar said.

At present, the Race Course is accessible exclusively for club members and racing enthusiasts.

The land parcel is spread across 8.5 lakh square metres, of which 2.5 square metres is owned by the civic body, while the remaining portion is owned by the state government.

The proposal of setting up a theme park was pitched by the Shiv Sena in 2013 when they were in majority in the civic body.

At present, the Race Course is managed by Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC), which acquired the land on a 30 year long lease in 1934, that was later renewed in 1964 for 30 more years. In 1994, a 19-year lease was signed and it expired in 2013, following which the BMC hasn’t renewed the lease.

The Mahalaxmi Race Course has been in the centre of a controversy in January this year after the civic body re-floated its decision to set up a theme park there by relocating the Race Course.

This is the first time a proposal of having the Race Course along with an amusement park is being floated by the administration.
Alongside this, Kesarkar also stated that a daycare centre for senior citizens is being set up in two south Mumbai wards.

“We are planning to set up eight day care centres for senior citizens in South Mumbai. These day care centres will have dedicated buses that will provide doorstep pick up and drop services to the senior citizens for free. The first two centres are already in the implementation stage and we will start it within the next two months,” Kesarkar said.

He also maintained that a special policy for providing dedicated spaces to hawkers is also being chalked out by the BMC and a plan for setting up food courts in the Koliwadas is also in the making.