Mumbai Mayor asks Commissioner to reject heliport proposal

Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu today said he had directed the Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte to reject any proposal from the state government to use the land of Mahalakshmi Racecourse in central Mumbai for construction of a heliport.
"I have written to the Commissioner and directed him to reject any proposal that the state government may come up about using the Racecourse land for a heliport," Prabhu said, talking to reporters here.
He alleged that he had written to the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in May 2013, seeking permission to use the land for a theme park, but the it was not heeded.

"After the lease of Royal Western India Turf Club expired in May last year, I wrote a letter to the CM... One year has passed but he did not take any concrete decision. And now he wants to construct a heliport there for the rich people," said Prabhu.
Using this land for a heliport for "a select class" of people would mean snatching away the right of the common man, said the Shiv Sena leader.
Asked about Chavan's claim that he had received no proposal from the Mumbai corporation for a theme park, Prabhu accused him of hiding the facts.

"When (Shiv Sena president) Uddhav Thackeray submitted the proposal to the CM, I was present. Many Shiv Sena MLAs were present too," Prabhu said.