The renowned Mahalaxmi Racecourse in South Mumbai may be moved to the Mulund dumping ground ten years after its lease expires. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) intends to move the racecourse and erect a theme park there instead.

Aditya Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena, has also voiced opposition to the proposal, claiming that it will be an attempt to demolish open urban areas in Mumbai. The Mahalaxmi racecourse is a well-known and historic monument in Mumbai, and the proposal to relocate it has created controversy.

The Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) received a land piece from the BMC in 1914 on a 99-year lease. This parcel became the site of the Mahalaxmi Race Course. The lease did, however, come to an end almost ten years ago, and the BMC is now hoping to purchase the property and turn it into a theme park.

Aaditya Thackeray, a leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and a former Maharashtra minister, criticised the state government on Monday for its plan to build a theme park at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, claiming that it would destroy Mumbai's urban green spaces and serve the interests of businesspeople rather than the city's residents.

In a series of tweets, Thackeray claimed that the Mahalaxmi Racecourse is an essential urban open space in Mumbai and a part of the life of all Mumbaikars. He continued by saying that the Uddhav Thackeray administration suggested creating a park like The Hyde Park where everyone would have unrestricted access to a natural setting free of any building.

Thackeray tweeted, “The racecourse also holds heritage within it. The idea was to create an urban green space open for children, the elderly, runners, yoga lovers, music lovers, artists and pets and horse lovers too—a free open urban green park for all. Now we read that khoke sarkar wants to build a theme park. It’s unfortunate that they want to destroy Mumbai’s open spaces.”

Mahalaxmi racecourse relocation plans are dependent on acquiring of private land in Mulund.

The 225-acre racecourse will be moved to a private piece of land near to the Mulund dumping ground. This idea depends on raising the cash to buy an over 100-acre private site, as well as the cash to construct a 2,400-meter track and support structures like stables, horse training grounds, and observation stands.

Despite the BMC having approved a resolution in 2013 to turn the racetrack into a theme park, the previous chairman of the RWITC, Jain, claims that the club hasn't heard anything about the proposal from either the BMC or the Maharashtra government and refers to it as unnecessary media speculation.

It is uncertain whether the idea would result in any meaningful action being done and whether the racecourse will be moved to the Mulund location.