Mumbai: 127-year-old Islam Gymkhana may lose land over pending rent

Islam Gymkhana was started in 1891. File Pic

The 127-year-old Islam Gymkhana is facing an ultimatum from City Collector's office -it has till the end of this month to cough up its rent of Rs 19.65 lakh since 2017, as per guidelines issued by the state government last year. The gymkhana administration, which had been paying an annual rent of Rs 1,024 since 1970, however, finds the calculation unfair and is not willing to pay the amount.

'Repeated refusal'
City Collector Shivaji Jondhale issued a notice to Islam Gymkhana last week, asking it to pay the rent for 2017, which amounts to Rs 9.63 lakh, and Rs 10.02 lakh for this year within 21 days. The notice also states that if it fails to do so, its earnings will go into the collector's custody.

"We've sat for discussions with them many times, but they refuse to pay the rent. We've sent them a demand notice; if they don't pay the amount in the given time, the collector may take over the land as well," said a senior official from the collector's office.

Gym's stand
Islam Gymkhana, which occupies 19,300 square metres, is a sea-facing property along Marine Drive and was started in 1891. After rents were revised in 2000, it had filed a writ petition in 2003. "The high court granted a stay order in 2004, which was vacated this March. The rent has been calculated unfairly; they should calculate March onwards. Besides, a majority of the land is a playground, which is open to the public; only 20 per cent of it is the built-up area where our structure stands. Why should we pay for the entire land then?" said a member of the gymkhana administration.

Referring to the GR, the gymkhana official added that the terms are unfair and 4 per cent annual increase in rent is obnoxiously high. "Our members pay an annual membership fee of Rs 5,000. Unlike the bigger clubs, we don't have so much money and cannot afford such a high rent. If they come to a reasonable amount between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, then we will gladly pay," said the member, adding that due to this disagreement, the collector has refused to give permissions for at least 13 weddings planned between October and February despite the fees being paid.

When contacted, Haneef Sheikh, manager of Islam Gymkhana, said, "We're in talks with the collector's office."

Size-wise
According to the GR issued last year, gymkhanas have been divided into three categories, depending on the plot size - clubs and gymkhanas spread over 20,000 square metres are in the 'A' category, which include Bombay Gymkhana, and Western India Football Association, while PG Hindu, Parsi, Islam, Grant Medical College, and Wodehouse and Wilson gymkhanas, which are on 10,000-20,000 square metres plots, fall in the 'B' category; smaller plots in the 'C' category have Catholic Gymkhana, Princess Victoria Mary Gymkhana and Police Gymkhana.

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