MUMBAI: A 13,843.82-square-metre salt pan land parcel in Wadala, reserved as a natural area, is now to be converted into a residential zone. The plot was earlier proposed to be used for a BEST bus depot or for the rehabilitation of project-affected people (PAPs) but the government has now reportedly decided to allot it for a gymkhana for bureaucrats.
The state’s urban development department issued a notification on April 1 to convert the plot into a residential zone under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. The reservation of another plot measuring 6,475 square metres has also been changed so that the state government can construct a godown for VVPAT and EVM machines.
According to the Development Plan of Mumbai (DP-2034), both land parcels were natural areas (NAs) and were to be left as NAs if they were not used for PAP resettlement or a BEST depot.
In October 2024, the district collector of Mumbai city had sent a letter to the revenue department, requesting it to delete the two land parcels from NA zoning and make them available for “public purposes”. In 2025, the government had invited suggestions and objections from the public regarding this use of the salt pan land.
A government official said that the land parcels did not have mangroves or hills on them, and a large part of the land had already been transferred to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited on a temporary basis. “There are already some structures on some parts of the land,” he said.
Near the land where the gymkhana has been proposed is a 13,000-square-feet plot which the state government has allotted to Indus Cooperative Housing Society, a housing society of about 200 IAS and IPS officers. A 22-storey tower is proposed to be constructed on the plot. In this perhaps lies the answer to the question: Why a gymkhana for IAS officers in Wadala?
