MUMBAI, Dec. 11 -- The move from garbage to golf is gaining momentum, with the civic administration commissioning a feasibility study for a golf course on the defunct Mulund dumping yard. This rules out all other suggestions, including one for a cancer or an eye hospital, on the 64-acre land parcel at Durgawadi in Mulund east. The feasibility study for the golf course will be conducted by Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the controlling body for professional golf in India, which had submitted a proposal to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) last month. The formal approval came on Wednesday from the BMC's solid waste management department, which underlined that this did not constitute approval for actual development or construction. The approval, in a letter addressed to Amandeep Johl, CEO, PGTI, permits limited a geotechnical survey. The proposal for a golf course in Mulund was mooted by local MLA Mihir Kotecha, who called the development "delightful news". "Residents of Mulund will be able to breathe fresh air after the removal of garbage from the dumping site. If the golf course is built, it will boost employment opportunities for local youth," he said. This is not the only proposal mooted for dumping ground. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Milind Narvekar had been pushing for a cancer hospital or an eye hospital to be built after the site was cleared. Another demand was made by Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt Ltd (NMDPL), an Adani Group-led special purpose vehicle executing the mega-Dharavi redevelopment project. NMDPL had sought 15 acres on a temporary lease for five years to build casting yards, precast units and ready-mix concrete (RMC) plants for the redevelopment project. The BMC agreed last month to lease the 15 acres at a cost of Rs 18 crore a year. A senior civic official said the feasibility study for the golf course will cover the entire dumping ground comprising 64 acres. "The 15 acres given to the Adani Group for casting yards is a temporary lease of five years. Once it expires, the plot will be converted into a golf course. There is no plan for a cancer hospital on the Mulund dumping ground," said the senior civic official. Sena (UBT)'s Milind Narvekar, who was pushing for a hospital to be built on the land, could not be reached for comment but Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray told HT, "It's so clear what the priorities of the BJP are. The golf course too will be given to a favourite contractor to build and run." Earlier, the BMC had suggested that the Mulund dumping ground and the private land next to it could accommodate a racecourse. The suggestion was made in January 2023, almost a decade after the Royal Western India Turf Club's lease on the Mahalaxmi Racecourse had expired. The BMC, which owns the Mahalaxmi land parcel, wrote to the state government, suggesting that it take back the land and convert it into a theme park. As a consequence, the RWITC could lease the Mulund dumping ground to build a new racecourse, the BMC had said. The Mulund dumping yard, the city's second-largest refuse yard, was shut in 2018 and is in the process of being scientifically closed after being in use since 1967. Almost 8 million cubic metres of waste, towering 30 metres high, had accumulated on the site. Of the 7.8 million tonnes of legacy waste, 5.8 million tonnes have been treated so far, leaving 2.2 million tonnes still untouched. The deadline to clear this is February 2026....