While residents of Ghatkopar have long waited for their own natyagruha (auditorium), the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has failed to open the Pant Nagar natyagruha for the past eight years. According to civic records, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) handed over the building to the BMC in 2017. Since then, the facility has remained shut.

In the 2024 Assembly elections, the auditorium`s parking area was used as a polling booth. “The natyagruha was handed over to the BMC under the built-up amenity programme,” said a BMC official. Under this scheme, when a reserved amenity plot is developed, the concerned authority is required to hand over a portion of the plot to the BMC post-development.