MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) plan to convert an 8,450 sq m football ground at Bandra Reclamation into a convention and exhibition centre moved a step closer on Wednesday after the civic body’s Improvements Committee approved a proposal to amend the Development Plan (DP) 2034 and change the plot’s reservation.
The move revives a long-pending proposal for a convention facility in the prime locality. HT had first reported about the BMC initiating the redesignation process on May 20.
Under the sanctioned DP 2034, the plot—CTS No. 791 (Part)—is designated as an existing amenity and reserved for a playground and sports ground. The land belongs to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) and is currently being used as a football ground, with a turf facility operating on part of the site. The Mumbai Football Association has been allotted the plot.
According to documents tabled before the Improvements Committee, Mhada had written to the BMC in November 2025, seeking restoration of the plot’s earlier planning designation as a “convention complex”.
BMC officials said Bandra Reclamation was originally part of the Bandra-Kurla Complex notified area under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). Planning authority for the area was transferred to the BMC in 2015.
Under the original Bandra Reclamation layout approved in 1983, a large plot adjoining the Bombay Art Society had been earmarked for a convention complex covering approximately 2.58 hectares, officials said. However, while preparing the draft DP 2034, the site was shown as an existing sports ground because it was functioning as a football field and remained open land.
After examining Mhada’s request, the development planning department concluded that restoring the earlier land use was justified, considering the absence of a convention or exhibition facility in the area. Since DP 2034 does not contain a specific reservation category for a convention centre, the BMC has proposed redesignating the land as an exhibition centre, officials said.
Under the proposal, the existing sports ground reservation, covering 6,897.4 sq m, and the playground reservation, spanning 1,552.6 sq m, would be deleted. In total, nearly 8,450 sq m of land would be redesignated as an exhibition centre, officials said.
The change requires modification of the sanctioned DP under section 37(1) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. The BMC will now invite public suggestions and objections, hold hearings and then forward the proposal to the state’s urban development department for final approval.
The proposal drew criticism from the Opposition, with Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) corporators questioning the removal of a sports reservation in an area already facing a shortage of open spaces.
Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Vishakha Raut said the ground had nurtured several national and international footballers and should be preserved. “When there is already a shortage of open spaces, why is the football ground being dereserved? Just as Shivaji Park has been a cradle for cricketers, this ground has been a cradle for football players. The proposal should be sent back for reconsideration,” she said.
Defending the proposal, Swapna Mhatre, a BJP corporator from Bandra, said there was a misconception that the reservation was being altered arbitrarily. She said that Mhada had historically reserved the land for a convention centre and had even constructed a boundary wall, using funds mobilised by local MLA Ashish Shelar, to prevent encroachment by slum dwellers.
“It is Mhada’s property, and the impression that we are changing the reservation is not entirely correct. If Mhada itself seeks restoration of its original reservation, the matter needs to be viewed in that context,” Mhatre added.