Mumbai architects oppose underground parking at Mahalaxmi Racecourse

The Mahalaxmi Racecourse. FILE PIC

A group of 102 Mumbai-based architects and urban planners have opposed the development of an underground public parking lot at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse. The project is part of the state government's plan to create a 300-acre public park at the racecourse (existing space and 170 areas of land reclaimed from the Coastal Road project).

The group, Mumbai Architects Collective, has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, demanding urgent intervention to prevent what they have termed "a disaster unfolding in real time", in the form of the proposed redevelopment.

Identifying themselves as "architects, urban designers, and planners who design, build, and shape this city every day", the group stated, "We are not opposed to improving public access. We are opposed to building underground complexes beneath one of the city's last large, natural, flood-absorbing grounds."

The group pointed out that what is being presented as a garden project is in fact a major infrastructure project with significant environmental, financial, and commercial implications.

What is state govt's plan?

1 Conversion of the racecourse into a public green open space known as ‘Mumbai's Central Park'
2 Green park at surface level with walking paths and landscaped zones
3 A sports complex underground spread across an area of 10 lakh sq ft
4 A 1.2-km underground tunnel to connect the park to the Coastal Road and Metro Line 3
5 Underground parking facility

Demands made by group

>> No underground parking or any other public open ground
>> Where parking is required, it should be beneath roads
>> BMC should formally adopt the principle established at Patwardhan Park and Pushpa Narsee Park as policy
>> Public open grounds shall not be converted to parking
>> Full public disclosure of all proposed development rights, lease terms, FSI grants, and financial arrangements
>> Funds should be directed towards the maintenance, improvement, and accessibility of the existing public garden and parks
>> The racecourse and the reclaimed Coastal Road should be a publicly
accessible open landscape

Why it is opposing project

It will lead to concreting beneath one of the city's last large, natural, flood-absorbing grounds - in a city that is already chronically short of open space and increasingly vulnerable to flooding