Sports policy cannot remain on paper, says Bombay HC; invalidates allotment of Navi Mumbai plot reserved for sports complex to developer for housing project

MUMBAI: Sports policies meant for the public cannot remain unimplemented as “paper policies”, the Bombay high court said, emphasising the importance of sports’ potential in nation building. The HC on Monday reprimanded Maharashtra UDD officials for their “negligent approach” in “woefully failing” to implement the once commendable step of setting up a government-standard sports complex at Ghansoli on 20 acres of the sprawling 61-acre CIDCO plot over the past 20 years.

The HC said it was “highly inconceivable that the State Government in the representation made by Shri Aseemkumar Gupta, Principal Secretary (Department of Urban Development) as also recorded in the minutes of the meeting (dated July 2023) could take a stand that the price (of 20 acres) of land allotted for the Government Sports Complex as claimed by CIDCO would be Rs 2,500 crores” and “it is extremely surprising that the Principal Secretary has not considered the issue of arbitrary allotment of a portion of land” to the builder in its entirety.

The Supreme Court had struck down the City Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (CIDCO)’s 2017 decision to allot a piece of land in Navi Mumbai to builder Progressive Homes for commercial purposes and also quashed the state government’s decision to shift its sports complex from Navi Mumbai to a remote rural location in Mangaon taluka, 115 km away.

The allotment of land by CIDCO to the developer for the housing complex was “not only unacceptable but totally arbitrary and illegal”, the HC said. CIDCO should have acted “taking into account public awareness”, the HC said.

“In view of the growing importance of sports in the international arena, there is an urgent need to provide effective and free sports facilities,” said a bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain, shocked that the state had left the land for primary commercial activities to a developer.

The verdict paved the way for better sports facilities and policies in the state and was the subject of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2019. The PIL questioned whether the vacant land earmarked in 2003 under the GR for a “Government Sports Complex” in Navi Mumbai should be concreted and dedicated. The Indian Institute of Architects, Navi Mumbai branch filed the PIL through Shekhar Bagool and Kaushal Jadia. Of the 61 acres, 41 was to be given to the NNMC for construction of a sports complex while 20 was to be developed by the state.

The state said that out of the 41 acres allotted to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation for the construction of a sports complex, CIDCO had given 36 acres to the civic body for the construction of such a complex. However, the PIL said that the remaining 20 acres were “illegally grabbed” and the complex on that land would be shifted to Nanore village, as per the state’s 2021 decision.

CIDCO is the new city planning authority and the HC and its actions are now “arbitrary”.

“It is unthinkable,” the HC said, that the state cannot use the plot for its public purpose. Criticising the state, the HC said, “It is high time the state realises that it is equally important that all kinds of sports facilities are made available to the children and youth of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai and large adjoining areas.” The HC directed CIDCO to hand over the entire plot in Sectors 12 and 12A, as earmarked, to the state for a sports complex, either free of cost or at government rates, saying, “Sports plays a significant role in the development of the citizens and the nation.”

The government and civic authorities fought tooth and nail to oppose the PIL, with 28 affidavits filed in the matter in the past five years.

The HC heard advocates Indrajeet Kulkarni representing the architects, advocate Nitin Gangal representing CIDCO, senior advocate YS Jahagirdar representing the builder, BV Samant, attorney general of the state, and advocate Tejesh Dande representing NNMC. It also dealt with the law governing sports, importance of promoting sports and a proper sports programme for the state. It said the state can also construct an additional sports complex at Village Nanore, Mangaon.

However, the HC, on the request of CIDCO and the state government, stayed the order for four weeks to enable them to challenge the order in the Supreme Court.

The HC said it was “beyond all imagination” how a sports complex that was meant to serve an urban agglomeration could be relocated to a location that lacks infrastructure, including rail, road and air links, to ensure its regular use.

The HC, while criticising the state’s decision to shift the proposed sports complex from Navi Mumbai, said, “It therefore appears obvious that the decision to shift the government sports complex from Ghansoli to Nanore was taken at a higher level and at the stroke of a pen, without any regard to the ground realities that would otherwise have been on record.” Justice Kulkarni, author of the 134-page judgment, said, “It is inconceivable that the land in Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai, which is reserved for the government sports complex, should remain unutilised for 18 years,” adding, “Furthermore, the necessary infrastructure for sportspersons and other necessary activities related thereto are certainly not available, and such are found in these cities and it is inconceivable that the youth and children who are residents of these urban areas should be able to regularly avail the sports facilities, even if they are provided in Village Nanore.”

On the issue of land cost, the HC found it surprising that if CIDCO could allot 36 acres to NNMC at a ground rent premium of Rs 22 crore, then despite the law laying down a cap under the MRTP Act, how could CIDCO charge the state “an unimaginable sum of Rs 2,500 crore?” for a mere 20-acre plot. “There has to be a sense of proportion in pricing of these lands, the nature of which is no different,” the HC emphasised, commenting on the state’s failure to rectify the “inadequacy at the 2023 meeting”, it said, “It is a pathetic state of affairs that at the higher levels of the government, these executive decisions taken by such officials remain uncorrected before they are subjected to judicial review.”

“We are, therefore, of the view that the decision of the State Government, purporting to relinquish the land of CIDCO at Ghansoli, which is not to be used for the Government Sports Complex, is brazenly illegal and arbitrary, viewed from every angle. In our opinion, the State Government was not required to take a hasty decision while considering the petition and the case of the petitioner as set out in the petition and also against the illegal resort of CIDCO to allotment of land from the land reserved for the Government Sports Complex to private parties (builders) and taking an – unjustified – decision to shift it to Village Nanore, a remote area in Raigad district.”

WHAT HC SAID:

We may reiterate that in the present case the allocation of land by CIDCO for the Government Sports Complex in its Zoning Plan or Development Plan which CIDCO had prepared, implemented and complied with was nothing but a reservation created in public interest in favour of the Government on the land which was to be used for the Government Sports Complex.

* It is unthinkable that land in Ghansoli, Navi Mumbai, earmarked for a government sports complex, has remained unused for 18 years.

* The authorities must be aware of not only the current but also the future rights of citizens to public spaces, playgrounds and sports complexes that can be used by everyone.

* In our opinion, the Government Sports Complex is of great importance for the children and youth who constitute a large section of the population of the urban areas surrounding Navi Mumbai.

* It is totally against the public interest to deprive them of the Government Sports Complex and access to the best sports facilities which could deepen their interest in sports, not only as per the policy of the Government of India but also of the State Government.

* The state can have an additional sports complex in Raigad, but it cannot replace the complex earmarked for Navi Mumbai.

* By inviting bids for housing projects, CIDCO was certainly changing the status of the land earmarked for a government sports complex, which was to be put up for sale in the open market

* CIDCO has maintained a consistent position since 2003 till the tender was floated in August 2016 that the said land in Sector 12 and Sector 12A will remain earmarked for Government Sports Complex.

* It is quite surprising that CIDCO has stated that since it did not receive permission from the State Government to acquire and utilise the land for a sports complex, it was deemed appropriate to allocate it to private parties by dividing it into plots.

* In our opinion, first of all, the failure to use the land, even though it was designated for development and fully known to the Ministry of Sports, caused unimaginable harm to citizens who were deprived of sports facilities.