Catholic Gymkhana on state govt's radar

Hindustan Times

8 hours ago

MUMBAI: The Catholic Gymkhana, a cultural and sporting icon on Marine Drive in South Mumbai, is now on the state government's radar. The move comes after two other popular institutions on prime property, also on Marine Drive, lost their leases within the last year. Mumbai, India - Aug. 12, 2025: Catholic Gymkhana at Marine Drives in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, August 12, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)
The Catholic Gymkhana, run by the Christian community and situated on leased government land like other gymkhanas on the waterfront, is under investigation by the Mumbai city district collector for alleged irregularities in its functioning. The complaint was made by the Republican Party of India (Athawale), which has asked the government to allot a gymkhana to the Neo-Buddhist community it represents, a privilege enjoyed by other communities in Mumbai.
The gymkhana calls the allegations baseless and hints at a larger motive, but that hasn't stopped the investigation. Mumbai collector Aanchal Goyal has constituted a three-member committee to probe the alleged irregularities. The committee is headed by Pradeep Taware, assistant superintendent, Mumbai city survey and land records department and is expected to submit its report in two days. The collector has also summoned the gymkhana's office-bearers for a hearing on August 18.
The complainant, filed by Sandesh Mohite, coordinator of RPI (Athawale), alleges that the Catholic Gymkhana has sublet land to a private company, is using the premises for commercial purposes, and has illegally built structures on the premises.
Mohite is demanding that the gymkhana be taken back from the management council, just as the state revoked the lease of the Wilson College Gymkhana last year, transferring it to the Jain International Organization (JIO). This was followed by the cancellation of the lease of the plot given to the Mumbai Hockey Association, next to Wankhede Stadium.
'There are illegal constructions including that of a turf ground and mesh fencing around it,' alleged Mohite. He said his party has demanded that a gymkhana be allotted to the Neo-Buddhist community in Mumbai. 'Seven months ago, we had demanded that Wilson Gymkhana be allotted to us, just as gymkhanas have been allotted to communities like the Muslims, Hindus, Parsis etc. Wilson was allotted to another organisation but our demand still stands.'
Apart from the collector's probe, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had initiated action against the Catholic Gymkhana in May, for an allegedly unauthorised mesh fence erected around the turf ground.
Taware, who leads the investigation, said, 'We conducted a hearing and site inspection recently. The report will be submitted to the collector after we check the documents relating to the lease and subsequent permissions.'
Catholic Gymkhana president Joaquim Reis hit out, saying the allegations are baseless and driven by vested interests. 'The charges were levelled after the management removed its old service provider in February. Baseless complaints to various government authorities have been filed by these people. We have not indulged in any irregularities and everything is as per the lease contract with the collector and with permissions from the BMC. It is not true that we have sublet the gymkhana. We operate it through that service provider. We have submitted our documents to the collector,' he said.
An official with the Mumbai collectorate said the lease agreements of almost all the gymkhanas on Marine Drive have either expired or are on the verge of expiring. This has given rise to demands by various organisations for allotment of these gymkhanas.'
The gymkhanas at Marine Lines and elsewhere in South Mumbai are leased for 30 years for a nominal, annual lease sum which ranges from ₹4-20 lakh, depending on the size of the land. The gymkhanas are meant to conduct sporting activities but can also conduct non-sporting activities such as wedding celebrations and entertainment programmes for 45 days a year, with ₹50,000 per day going to the government.
The official from the collectorate said most gymkhanas violate the lease clauses by renting the premises for wedding ceremonies and other commercial activities, thus undermining sports activities.