Maharashtra’s urban development department has directed the BMC and all other planning authorities in the state not to delete a reserved playground unless an alternate plot of the same size is provided and reserved for the same use.
The directive, issued under Section 154 (i) of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966, applies to municipal corporations and councils as well as special planning authorities, including the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, City and Industrial Development Corporation and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
The order also reiterates that encroachments on playgrounds cannot be regularised, regardless of how long they have existed. The state urban development department issued the directions after the government finalised the Sports Policy, 2001, according to officials cited in the report.
Under the new requirement, a planning authority seeking to delete a playground reservation because of a hardship or a need to create another public amenity will have to submit a proposal for reserving another plot of the same size at the same time. The stated objective is to ensure that the total number of playgrounds and the extent of land reserved for them do not decline.
The directive builds on a government order issued in 2003. That order required planning authorities to provide a detailed explanation for deleting a playground reservation and obtain approval from the state cabinet. Officials said the earlier measure was intended to discourage the removal of open-space reservations, but proposals for deletion continued to reach the cabinet.
The fresh order therefore shifts the administrative test from explanation alone to replacement. A planning authority will not be able to seek deletion of a playground reservation without simultaneously identifying an alternate plot of equivalent size for the same purpose. The directive does not, however, identify specific plots or set out a new project-wise implementation timeline in the information available.
For Mumbai, the order places the BMC’s decisions on reserved playgrounds within a wider state-level framework governing land-use changes. The BMC is among the planning authorities covered by the directive, while MMRDA, MHADA, CIDCO and MSRDC are among the special planning authorities specifically included.
The prohibition on regularising encroachments also restates an existing position rather than creating a new exception for older occupations. According to the officials cited, all encroachments on playgrounds remain ineligible for regularisation, irrespective of their age.
The immediate administrative consequence is that any proposal to remove a playground reservation will need to address both the reason for deletion and the availability of an alternate plot of the same size. The state government’s directive leaves planning authorities responsible for preparing and submitting such proposals under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act.
