Mumbai, May 28: The ongoing controversy over the central government's notice to Delhi Gymkhana, asking it to hand over the prime property occupied by it, has understandably had its repercussions in Mumbai. Several private clubs, like the Bombay Gymkhana, Wodehouse Gymkhana, Willingdon Club, Islam Gymkhana, Hindu Gymkhana, Catholic Gymkhana et al., have occupied prime government land in South Mumbai since pre-Independence and have been paying paltry rent to the BMC.

According to a research-based report put out by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), of the total 3,780 acres of open space, as much as 664 acres is collectively occupied by these clubs and gymkhanas. In a city starved of open space, it is nothing........

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