CM Fadnavis selling Mumbai’s open land to BJP MLAs and friend: Aaditya Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Worli legislator Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday (August 20, 2026) slammed Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, alleging that he is selling Mumbai’s open land parcels to his BJP MLAs and friends. He appealed to Mumbaikars to join him in the protest that will be held on Sunday (August 23, 2026) at Neville Dsouza Football Ground in Bandra.

“Mr. Fadnavis is gifting a field and two additional plots in Mumbai to one of the BJP MLAs. Ten years ago, the cost of the Andheri ground plot was ₹550 crore. Today, Mr. Fadnavis has decided to give these plots to a BJP MLA for ₹21 lakh per year,” claimed Mr. Thackeray, adding that the Neville Dsouza Football Ground will be renamed after the BJP leader.

The move to organise a protest comes after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) general house approved the conversion of the land reservation of Neville Dsouza turf into a convention centre on August 19. The controversy also centres on leasing the two MHADA-owned plots in Juhu and D.N. Nagar (Andheri), totalling 4 acres, and the BMC-owned 12-acre Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Sports Complex in Andheri (West), under a Public-Private Partnership model.

The issue also concerns the leasing of the Mulund Sports Complex to a petrol pump, as raised by Mr Thackeray. The BMC house also cleared the redevelopment of 22 Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) bus depots across Mumbai, aiming to develop urban hubs under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) model through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

Mr. Thackeray, criticising the BJP, said, “They wanted control of BMC to privatise everything in Mumbai. BJP is such that it will mark the sea as open space and declare that there is an open space deficiency in Mumbai.”

He appealed to Mumbaikars to join the protest irrespective of their political leaning, saying, “Stand for the cause. No party flags will be brought. I have appealed to civil societies, sports lovers, and other political parties to participate in the protest.”