Opposition slams BMC move to lease six-acre Worli land in Mumbai after long-drawn legal battle over ownership | Mumbai News
Mumbai: BMC’s recent decision to float a Rs 1,348-crore tender to auction the six-acre Century Cotton Textile Mill land for a 30-year lease drew sharp criticism from the Opposition who questioned the intent to monetise the public land after a prolonged legal battle to establish its ownership.“It’s a corrupt practice to auction BMC’s public land in the absence of Mumbai’s elected representatives,” alleged Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray of Shiv Sena (UBT), adding that he would soon write to the BMC commissioner about the auctioning of the Century mill plot and another Worli plot bearing CS No. 1629 (part), currently used for an asphalt plant and municipal testing laboratory which BMC also proposes to lease for a period of 30 years, to raise funds for its ongoing infrastructure projects.The six-acre land was leased in 1927 to Century Spinning and Manufacturing Co (now Century Textiles and Industries Ltd) for 28 years at an annual rent of Re 1. The lease expired in 1955, but the company continued to occupy land; neither BMC nor the company initiated proceedings for half a century. In 2006, the company sent a notice to BMC saying that as per the deed, land ought to be conveyed after expiry of 28-year lease. The matter reached the Bombay high court. In March 2022, HC directed BMC to execute the conveyance deed within eight weeks. On Jan 7, 2025, the Supreme Court set aside the HC ruling, ending Century Textiles’ claim over the land and clearing the way for the BMC to auction it.“In the case of Century Mill quarters, the number of residents as per BMC is different from the real number on the ground — obviously benefiting the builder. We will not let a single brick be put in both Worli plots — whoever the builder — until Mumbai’s voice is heard. If at all these plots are developed, they must house the current residents (in Century Mill land) along with mill workers, and retired police, BMC, and govt staffers,” Thackeray said.Malad MLA and former cabinet minister Aslam Shaikh alleged enormous amounts of public money were spent in the past few years on infrastructure projects and beautification works, which showed “zero” results. “When it realised that there is no money now to fund the remaining infrastructure projects, BMC is now looking at monetising public lands,” he said.Some also pointed out that BMC, on one hand, fought for years — right up to the Supreme Court — to establish its ownership over the Century mill land, only to now open it up for private participation.Advocate Vivekanand Gupta argued that leasing out the plot for commercial development defeats the very purpose of retaining public land, especially in a densely built area like Worli. In his letter to the chief minister, he said: “Public land is held in trust by the government for citizen use and should be maintained by BMC for public purpose only. The lack of safe and open spaces disproportionately affects children and women, who often have fewer secure places to play or exercise, impacting their development and well-being. I request your urgent intervention in this matter to immediately stop the auction and save this essential open space in Mumbai.”Even BJP leader and former opposition leader in the BMC Ravi Raja objected to the move. Pointing out that after securing the land after a long and expensive legal fight, to hand it over for privatisation raises serious questions about priorities. “The obvious reason for BMC to do so is to raise revenue for the Rs 2 lakh crore of liabilities it has for the multiple projects it has taken up,” said Raja.
