The building which has come up in place of the open air stadium has 8 giant halls in petal shape on the ground level and an equal number on the first floor ringed by a corridor that can house small shops. What’s left of central playing area is a circle with a diameter of 60 meters, built like an amphitheatre. The floor has been cemented so the entire structure on the erstwhile stadium doesn’t have an inch of grass left.

Apart from the clear CRZ, lease agreement, FSI and Green Zone violations, the Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium also goes against ULCRA rules. JR Jondhale, the then additional collector with Urban Land Ceiling Department had even written to the BMC in 2007 demanding that the construction of the indoor stadium be stopped.

The lease agreement between the NSCI and the BMC, accessed through RTI, show that the Olympic stadium and an adjoining club house had been let out to the former for 99-years in 1951 for an annual rent. The deal was that they could use the club house for their leisure activities while they would maintain the size Olympic stadium, which was suitable to host national and international sports including athletics, cycling, football and hockey.

Seven years ago, the managing committee of the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) suddenly started breaking down the existing Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium to start building–what they led everyone to believe–would be Mumbai’s first international Olympic size indoor stadium. The project was conceived in 2003 to be worth around Rs 40 crore and scheduled to be completed in 18 months. Seven years and Rs 200 crore later, it still isn’t functional, but the superstructure is ready.