In the 1970’s that the Government of Maharashtra had planned to reclaim the vast area of land from Raj Bhavan to Haji Ali and construct skyscrapers making the area into a concrete jungle. Shri B A Desai, along with some prominent citizens of Mumbai like Shri Rajni Patel, Shri B K Karanjia, Mr Murli Deora, Mr R H Dastoor, Mr Ajit Malkani formed "Save Breach Candy Committee" and under its auspices of led protest marches and also held a cricket match to stop the land reclamation. This movement led to the creation of the Malabar Hill Citizens’ Forum.

The movement was successful and the reclamation was stopped. But in the meantime, several builders who had an eye on the substantial reclaimed land on which they wanted to build skyscrapers, pestered Shri B A Desai for the land. The area was already being used for nefarious activities like illicit breweries and was a smuggler's den. But Shri B A Desai, in his capacity as MLA, resisted all these efforts, and at his instance, the said land was handed over to the Malabar Hill Citizens’ Forum in 1985. From a stinking junkyard-cum-smugglers paradise with a surface worse than the lunar surface, the Malabar Hill Citizens’ Forum worked hard to develop the land into a glorious park-cum-garden-cum-sports centre.

Today that land has been transformed into the beautiful Priyadarshini Park & Sports Complex where thousands of people from all age groups and all walks of life come to enjoy and relax. If you want to feel the untrammeled sea, sun and wind and experience a few hours of bliss, it is here, at Priyadarshini Park and Sports Complex, on Napean Sea Road. Priyadarshini is 20 acres of a beautiful green belt on the sea front, with one-third of the park developed for the activities of the Priyadarshini Sports Complex.

PDP proudly boasts of a 400 metre eight lane Olympic standard synthetic track and four tennis courts amongst other state of the art equipments for their Gymnasium etc. There are qualified coaches for Tennis, Football, Karate, Athletics etc. Hundreds of children use these facilities at any given time. It is also noteworthy that National level players in football, athletics, and body-building are trained at Priyadarshini Sports Complex. The Aerobic Centre that is affiliated to Reebok enables the instructors to benefit with the latest in aerobics.

The guiding spirit and the masterly hand behind the development of the park along sporting lines is Senior Advocate and former Minister of Maharashtra and MLA for the area for 25 years, Shri B A Desai. He has played a splendid role in developing the Priyadarshini Park as it stands today. A dream come true, Priyadarshini Park is an example of an extraordinary national institution with total commitment to excellence. With an ambience of greenery & peace and a thrust towards promoting sports among the young and old alike, Priyadarshini Park is committed to a wonderful future for our country.