Confirming the government's decision, deputy sports director N B Mote said he had written to the city collector—the competent authority in the matter—to take immediate physical possession of the land. Only 1,880 sq ft of MHA land leased to the Mumbai Cricket Association will not be taken over by the state, he added. The association retorted by saying it would move court soon to obtain a stay on the government's decision.
The reasons cited by the sports department for revoking the lease agreement include not promoting hockey, using the land for commercial purposes (such as letting out for marriages) and not granting membership to Olympians and Arjuna/Shiv Chhatrapati awardees. The government would now develop the ground and create facilities for the game, said officials.
While a government resolution was issued last week in this regard, the decision to cancel the lease was taken in July at a meeting called by then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. Several hockey players reportedly complained about the MHA management and how it "treated the sports body as its personal fiefdom". The state then decided to scrap the lease
The ground has been mired in controversy since 2003, when its 35-year lease expired. "In those 35 years, we received numerous complaints from citizens and players about the violation of lease conditions, government sanction not being sought for repair of the stadium and building, refusal to reply to government queries, etc. In 2004, when they sought renewal of the lease, the government decided not to grant it," an official said.
The MHA, earlier known as the Bombay Hockey Association, raised the matter before the competent authority who ruled in favour of the government. The association then challenged it before the sessions court, but lost there, too. In 2008, the MHA moved the high court against the order.
During the same period, the MHA again appealed to the government to renew the lease. It promised to abide by the lease conditions and also withdraw the case in the HC. Vilasrao Deshmukh, who was the chief minister at that time, allowed a new lease to be signed for 15 years with fresh conditions and with retrospective effect from 2004. However, the MHA is yet to sign the agreement as it wants a 32-year lease.
The MHA withdrew the case against the state in 2009, but filed a fresh plea owing to internal differences. This was dismissed by the court in 2010.
In June 2011, a meeting was called by CM Prithviraj Chavan and it was again decided that there would be no change in the terms and conditions specified in 2008. In July this year, Pawar called a meeting to discuss the contentious issues.
Reacting to the government's decision, MHA honorary secretary Ram Singh Rathore said: "We are in a state of shock, but we will move court at the earliest and are confident of obtaining a stay order. The authorities have alleged that we are not conducting matches and not giving membership to Olympians and former players. Both claims are untrue. We do lease out our facility, but that is purely to generate funds to run the show here."
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