‘Racecourse lease expired in 1994 but operations continued till extension in 2004’

Indications are he will extend the lease but the government appears in no hurry to make a decision.

Kunte said,“The lease of RWITC expired in 1994 but was renewed by the state government only in 2004. In the interim,the racecourse was operational.”

The civic chief refused to take a stand on lease renewal. “The lease expires at midnight. We will cross the bridge when we come to it,” he said,adding,“There are many scheduled properties under the state urban development department whose leases have expired but the lessees continue to use the properties.”

BMC has submitted its report on the RWITC lease to the state government. The report contains several legal and technical aspects discussed at a group leaders meeting earlier this month.

“Leader of the House and Shiv Sena member Yashodhar Phanse submitted a report to the administration on violations by occupants whose lease had expired. We have added his inputs to the report submitted to the state government,” Kunte said.

“The land under the state government and BMC comes under CRZ and is a listed heritage grade II-B site. It is also listed as a recreational ground in the city development plan. We will have to carefully look at these aspects and consult the authorities before making plans for the area,” he said.

RWITC has been using the racecourse for over 99 years and pays an annual rent of Rs 60 lakh to hold derbys six months in a year.

In 2010,BMC issued a notice to RWITC accusing it of sub-letting part of the land without permission. However,it recently renewed RWITC licence to serve food and drinks in eateries on the premises.

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