Urban Planners Group Opposes Conversion Of Football Ground Into Convention Centre

A group of urban planners and architects has urged the urban development department to reject the proposed modification in Development Plan 2034 that will change the reservation of the Neville D’Souza Football Ground in Bandra from a playground/maidan and open-space reservation to an exhibition and convention centre. The change in reservation was cleared in the BMC general body meeting on Tuesday.

In a representation dated August 19 to the principal secretary of the urban development department-1, the group which calls itself ‘Urban Centre Mumbai’, said the proposed conversion would result in the loss of a valuable public open space in a city already severely deficient in such amenities. The group said it was “deeply concerned” by the proposed conversion of an existing playground/maidan into an exhibition or convention centre, sports complex or any other built-up, non-open-space or privatised use.

Despite recognising the shortage, the planners said, the DP 2034 had failed to adequately address the gap through reservation, acquisition, protection or augmentation of public open spaces. The representation was signed by the group’s principal director Pankaj Joshi, and Urmi Kenia, director, spatial planning and community development.

The group also questioned the planning basis for the proposed change, stating that there was no supporting preparatory study or evidence establishing the need for an exhibition or convention centre at the particular location. It argued that converting an open space reservation into a built-up use represented a fundamental shift from protecting public open spaces towards their systematic conversion.

The planners said the proposal should not be evaluated merely on whether a commercial or built-up activity could physically be accommodated on the plot. “Land available for public open spaces is extremely scarce and cannot be viewed merely as another development opportunity,” the representation stated, arguing that once such land was diverted towards commercial exploitation, the resulting loss of public amenity would not be readily reversible.

The group further warned that the step could create a precedent for other public open spaces to face similar dilution or commercial exploitation. Treating each proposal as an isolated case, it said, would ignore the cumulative impact of the loss of open spaces across the city.

The planners have also called for the cumulative ward-level deficiency in open spaces to be considered before any change in reservation is approved. They said the planning authorities and the Improvement Committee needed to establish, through transparent and verifiable data, that the affected ward had adequate public open-space provisions before permitting any proposal that reduced, commercialised or otherwise compromised an existing public open space.

The representation also raised constitutional and legal concerns, stating that the proposal could have implications for the Right to Life under Article 21, which includes the right to a clean and healthy environment, as well as Article 14, if the decision is found to be arbitrary or inconsistent with established planning norms. It also invoked environmental safeguards and the Public Trust Doctrine, under which public spaces and resources are held by the State in trust for public use.

The group has urged the principal secretary of the urban development department not to approve the proposed change in land use or any consequential modification to DP 2034 and to reject proposals that will result in the dilution of open spaces across Greater Mumbai.