September 10, 2025

Mumbai’s Bandra Reclamation playground has become the center of a fiery debate! The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has handed over the famous Gen Arun Kumar Vaidya playground to the Mumbai Educational Trust (MET) for maintenance for the next 11 months starting July 1. But hold on—some locals and activists are raising their voices against this move. They wonder why the BMC is letting a private body take care of a public playground. Activist Zoru Bhathena asked, "Why does the BMC not see to the maintenance of the ground themselves? If funds are a problem, BMC can use CSR funds. Why are you allowing a third party to take possession of the land?" She also questioned how many such caretakers have actually returned the plots back to the BMC. Former corporator Raja Rahebar Khan chipped in with concerns about the past. "BMC has handed over the ground to MET earlier too. There have been instances in the past, wherein the gate from Chapel road was closed and citizens had to enter from another gate causing them inconvenience. Games such as cricket, football and volleyball, apart from tennis and basketball, are played on the ground. Our demand is that there should be no change with regard to citizen's access to the ground or timing of access to the grounds," Khan said emphatically. Despite the protests, some locals like Vidya Vaidya from Bandra (W) have a different take. She said, "As long as citizens have full access to the ground without any restrictions and the ground is maintained properly, it does not matter who holds possession of the ground." The BMC garden department official clarified, "The ground has been handed over to MET as per BMC policy and it helps the civic body save funds that is spent on maintenance of the ground. In fact, MET has been in possession of the ground earlier till 2016. Besides, MET is a local educational institution, so it is expected they will maintain the ground well for locals. If there are complaints regarding access or other issues, they will be resolved by BMC." One key condition from BMC during handing over was that the playground cannot be used for commercial or political purposes. So what’s the big deal? It boils down to trust—can MET maintain this precious playground well and keep it open for all? This playground is home to cricket, football, volleyball, tennis, and basketball lovers. Locals are keen to see it shine without any hurdles! In short, the Bandra playground saga is heating up. The public wants full access and good upkeep. The BMC wants to save funds. The MET brings local ties and history. Who will win this tug of war? Stay tuned as this story unfolds!

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Tags: Bmc, Met, Bandra reclamation, Playground maintenance, Public access, Local activists,