'We Will Not Allow & Tolerate Division Of Racecourse Land': Aaditya Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Friday said his party would not allow the state government to set up a theme park and a public garden on 120 acres of the 211-acre Mahalaxmi race course. The legislator's statement came a day after BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal met club members and tried to assuage their concerns over the issue.

Thackeray said in a series of tweets, "We will not allow and tolerate division of the racecourse land, and we will have to disrupt @rwitcmumbaiactivities if it agrees to the government proposal. Nobody has given it the right to speak for our city's open spaces! The RWITC must renew the lease for the entire space, undivided and only after paying its full dues and penalties in one go. It has to answer for the unpaid dues to the @mybmcfor the new restaurants it's allowed and all the revenue it generated from events over the past decade."

The former minister said the Sena (UBT) would not allow the "pro-contractor municipal commissioner to decide for our city of Mumbai". Mumbai does not "need theme parks with any fancy construction in the racecourse land", he added.