How Worli's Vallabhai Patel Stadium was turned into a shopping mall!

SAUMIT SINGH

Seven years ago, the managing committee of the National Sports Club of India suddenly started breaking down the existing Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium to start building – what they led everyone to believe – would be Mumbai’s first international Olympic size indoor stadium. The project was conceived in 2003 to be worth around Rs 40 crore and scheduled to be completed in 18 months. Seven years and Rs 200 crore later, it still isn’t functional, but the superstructure is ready.

All this while, the NSCI managing committee has been plagued by allegations of corruption, mismanagement, embezzlement of funds and irregularities in the tendering process, and the matter ended up in the High Court in 2007. In 2008, the court pronounced its judgement and appointed an administrator, retired Supreme Court judge BP Singh, to stem the infighting and oversee the speedy completion of the pending project.

Since the matter brought to the High Court involved corruption in executing the project, BP Singh’s brief was to speedily get the work finished and verify that past and future bills were raised according contracted rates before clearing them. But the legality of the project itself was neither part of the High Court case nor within the purview of the special administrator appointed by the court. BP Singh’s brief was only concerned with the early completion of the project and signing bills.

“The work is around 90 percent complete,” said Jaisingh Choraria, the regional secretary of NSCI. “There is still a little work to be done and then we’ll deal with the interiors. We are hoping that at least the main arena of the stadium can be completed soon, but I cannot commit if the stadium project will be completely ready even by January 2012.”

While the members had been at war over the delay and cost overruns of the project, not to mention specific allegations about overpricing of almost every item in the civil work, but documents procured under RTI show that the entire indoor stadium project is coming up in complete violation of all norms and rules.

In fact, if the revenue generation projections prepared by the NSCI from the indoor stadium are to be believed, the indoor stadium seems to be an air-conditioned mall cum amphitheatre cleverly disguised as a stadium.

The design basis report prepared by project architect Shashi Prabhu and Associates for the NSCI envisages that the concretised central arena will be rented out for corporate functions and events while the surrounding halls will be house Italian, Japanese, Chinese and Thai eateries, shops, health clubs, banquet halls, consumer stores and salons. The plan also includes getting various popular fast food vendors to sell burgers, ice-creams, pizzas, chaat, coffee and juice in the corridor between the central arena and the halls.

Meanwhile, a 3.5 lakh square feet basement car park to accommodate around 800 vehicles is already functional on what was fertile land earmarked as a green zone (no development zone) reserved for an open air stadium to play football, hockey and other games. The area itself falls under the stringent Coastal regulation Zone II where any construction above Rs 5 crore – even if permitted – needs MoEF clearance.

To compound matters, even the lease agreement signed between the BMC and NSCI specifically stipulates that the stadium was meant for sports like football and hockey and the velodrome for racing events. There was no provision for any change in usage or FSI. Creating a double storey indoor stadium for just tennis and badminton negates both conditions.

The sheer audacity of what is clearly a land grab of sea-facing Worli property leased out by the BMC for sporting activities to NSCI has not dawned even on the members who’ve seen the indoor stadium project coming up before their very eyes for seven years, all along believing it to be an enhanced club house with international quality sports equipments for their use.

MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS

The lease agreement between the NSCI and the BMC, accessed through RTI, show that the Olympic stadium and an adjoining club house had been let out to the former for 99-years in 1951 for an anual rent. The deal was that they could use the club house for their leisure activities while they would maintain the size Olympic stadium, which was suitable to host national and international sports including athletics, cycling, football and hockey.

The NSCI was allowed to earn some revenue by renting the stadium to other sports bodies for sporting events alone – any exceptions needed clearance from the Municipal Commissioner. The rate – per function day – was fixed at Rs 1.33 lakh, with 50% percent of the profit to be shared with the BMC. Another condition was that the stadium was to be made available for the use of school children, while the BMC would get access to it for at least 15 days in a year.

The stadium’s velodrome – the only one in the city – was used to film the climax of Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, in which Aamir Khan participates in a cycle race. Between Shivaji Park and Marine Drive, it was also the only free open air stadium ground accessible for children to play. The lease agreement specified that the Olympic stadium should “be open for the use of school children and registered sports organisations” on non-event days.

Marked as a green area in the land survey, the stadium plot abuts the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, Mumbai’s last remaining green lung, and falls under strict Coastal Regulation Zone rules. In a letter dated November 2002, PV Deshmukh, deputy secretary, Urban Planning, clarified that the “the land under reference falls in CRZ II area” and therefore, the repairs and reconstruction of the stadium were being “permitted subject to existing FSI norms and without change in the existing use”.

Deshmukh, incidentally, made the letter from the Urban Development department look like a clearance from the MoEF. A copy of that letter has been procured.

In the Adarsh scam, Deshmukh has been indicted for issuing a similar letter, which misled the BMC.

But what even more intriguing is that NSCI members themselves were never consulted or taken into confidence about the indoor stadium project. “The redevelopment was never approved by the general body. Members were not told what the final plan was. Even I came across several documents which raised doubts about the legality of the indoor stadium. I have asked the management whether the stadium is on a green zone. In such a case the indoor stadium would face a problem as it falls in CRZ II,” said one NSCI member.

Another member who has been agitating for the members and highlighting irregularities in the club added, “We have asked the NSCI management to clarify our doubts on various matters but they have not replied to us.”

The former Olympic Oval which housed a football field has now been reduced to a central arena of 60 meters diameters. From an open air stadium, it has become a ground plus one structure with basement parking. The project plan, prepared by Shashi Ptrabhu and Associates, shows the central arena ringed by 8 giants halls on each floor – a total of 16 halls – which according to the NCSI design basis report will be leased out “popular vendors” to set up Asian, Thai, Italian and Japanese restaurants, banquet halls, consumer stores,

Asked why an Olympic size stadium meant for football, hockey and racing has been reduced to a central arena of 60 meters diameter, NSCI president BC Chawla said, “Why would anyone want to play football here? Only a mad man will think like that. I have nothing to do the permissions, but this is my baby and I want to see it completed. If you have questions, ask the secretary.”

On his part, the secretary Jaisingh Choraria said, “I don’t know who permitted the open air stadium being converted into an indoor stadium because I wasn’t an office bearer in 2003. But I will say that we have all permissions because how else could we have started this project?”

LUCRATIVE LAND

Apart from the clear CRZ, lease agreement, FSI and Green Zone violations, the Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium also goes against ULCRA rules. JR Jondhale, the then additional collector with Urban Land Ceiling Department had even written to the BMC in 2007 demanding that the construction of the indoor stadium be stopped. “The project should be stopped because the stadium is coming up on land declared surplus under the Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act (ULCRA). It is meant for public use,” Jondhale had written. But apparently BMC paid no heed.

For years, vested interests had been plotting to monetise the huge stadium land. In the summer of 1994, BC Chawla, who was an office bearer even then, was in talks with the Hinduja group to sub let the stadium. Copies of the correspondence between Chawla and Hinduja company Indusind enterprises detail how they proposed a 25 year lease for the stadium and club building for a spend of Rs 100 crore.

The move was scuttled after it came to public attention. In a strongly worded letter, the secretary of the Delhi chapter of NSCI, KN Jasoria wrote to Chawla in October, 1994: “Surprised such illegal action being taken without the prior permission of the executive committee. You along with Bombay regional committee are restrained from taking any action or any dialogue with the Hindujas regarding stadium or any other land of the club.” Ironically in 2010, BC Chawla, as President of the Mumbai chapter of NSCI, is presiding over the “redevelopment” of the Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium.

The whole project was kick started in 2003 by Chawla and fellow office bearers without so much as a project report or a consultation with the general body. “No member had an idea of what was actually being planned till they performed a bhoomi pujan in April 2003,” said a veteran NSCI member.

More importantly, the permission for tampering with the structure was taken from the BMC under section that deals with reconstruction of dilapidated structures with no provision for alterations. The BMC issued a commencement certificate – which is in the possession of Mumbai Mirror – for “reconstruction of existing Vallabhbhai Stadium”. But the NSCI went ahead and demolished the structure and built a completely new one without any permission or clearances.

How the reconstruction of the open air stadium suddenly turned into a project to build an air-conditioned indoor stadium with 16 halls and a basement parking is something no one seems to know – and no one has even questioned it till now.

The project was handed over by NSCI to one Raj Peshori, who in turn hired the services of Shashi Prabhu and Associates, known for developing stadiums. Peshori, who had even accommodated his college going daughter in a section of the project, was subsequently removed in 2007 after the Mumbai High Court observed that he himself had had no prior experience in handling such a project.

In 2007, the current chairman Bipin Mehta and three other members of the executive committee wrote to BC Chawla saying that “to their knowledge, Shashi Prabhu and Associates were never appointed by the club”. But it was all drowned in the din of the many other allegations.

Ever since the project took off in 2003, the managing committee itself found itself fighting corruption charges. Jaisingh Choraria, the treasurer, actually filed a police complaint against BC Chawla and three other office bearers alleging forgery, cheating, criminal breach of trust and conspiracy that deprived the NSCI of crores of rupees.

However, they soon “amicably” made up with each other. Choradia was declared a hostile witness when he told the court that he ‘could not remember’ the contents of his complaint and claimed that it was all a ‘misunderstanding’. Chawla and others were acquitted. Choraria is today the Secretary of the NSCI.

GROUND ZERO

The building which has come up in place of the open air stadium has 8 giant halls in petal shape on the ground level and an equal number on the first floor ringed by a corridor that can house small shops. What’s left of central playing area is a circle with a diameter of 60 metres, built like an amphitheatre. The floor has been cemented so the entire structure on the erstwhile stadium doesn’t have an inch of grass left.

“The stadium was meant for sports like football and hockey. A football field is around 100 metres long and 64 meters wide. Even if the arena was bigger, can you play football on a cemented floor? As for athletics, not even a 100 meter race can be held here because the diameter is just 60 metres. The velodrome is gone forever, the ground has been eaten up – the children from nearby areas will never be able to play here again,” pointed out one member.

Given the remaining space, at best, the central arena can sometimes be utilized for badminton and tennis, but the BMC had separately allotted space for that in the adjoining club house building called as the “warm up” building. The “Olympic Stadium” that was meant to host football, hockey and cycling has transformed into a closed arena that can just about accommodate a few tennis and badminton courts.

The design basis report however says that it can be used for hosting film award shows, pop concerts, trade shows and company annual general meetings.

Documents in our possession indicate that the office bearers have been attempting to sub-lease the building for 12 years to an “arena operator” – for a one-time payment of Rs 75 crore. In exchange, the arena operator would retain 100% of the revenues generated by the complex and car parking. In fact, a “pre-qualification questionnaire” had been drafted by a leading law firm in December 2006 to invite bids to manage the “stadium” which is now also being referred to as a “superdome”.

Meanwhile, the office bearers of NSCI remain in awe of contributions of BC Chawla for the cause of the indoor stadium over the last 30 years he’s been in the thick of the club’s affairs. In 2005, Bipin Mehta (the current chairman of NSCI) had moved a proposal to rename the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium as the BC Chawla Sports Complex. The motion was passed “unanimously” but couldn’t be adopted after indignant ordinary members created a ruckus.