Golf course plan tees off residents, MLA bats for property rate potential

Residents say they need bigger open spaces and indigenous trees; MLA Mihir Kotecha says land reclaimed from dumping ground can't be used for any construction for 12 years

- Manoj Ramakrishnan

Mihir Kotecha, the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Mulund, has a vision for the suburb and that plan includes a golf course on 64 acres of land that is in the process of being reclaimed from a dumping ground decommissioned in 2018.

However, residents of the suburb are not convinced by the idea of a golf course. On Thursday, members of a political party gathered outside Mulund railway station to protest against the plan. Sagar Devre from Prayas, a citizens' group in the area, said, "Golf is not played by many people. A day of golf can cost Rs10,000. How many residents from the locality can afford this? This is public land and it should be used for public purposes."

Another resident, Rajlaxmi Iyengar, said the area desperately needs a large green space. "There are only two large open spaces in Mulund East - the Raje Sambhaji ground and the Dr CD Deshmukh Garden. The other open areas are tiny parks. The area needs a large green space with indigenous trees. As the place is close to mangrove forests, the area already attracts lots of birds," said Iyengar.