NGOs back Dharavi redevelopment survey, say opposition only by non-locals

Several non-government organisations working in Dharavi have pledged their support to the ongoing state government-led survey of informal tenants in Asia's biggest slum and accused non-locals of trying to stall redevelopment by spreading misinformation, according to letters they wrote to state government authorities.

The NGOs have written to Dharavi Redevelopment Project/Slum Rehabilitation Authority (DRP/SRA), a government of Maharashtra body overseeing the $3-billion redevelopment project being executed by the Adani group, extending support for the survey.

A total of eight NGOs and citizen welfare associations involved in diversified welfare activities ranging from health, education, women empowerment amongst others, met with DRPPL CEO and extended support of Dharavikars to the state-government-led survey currently being conducted in the area.

While extending support to the survey, Noor Mohammed Khan of Global Giving Foundation and All India Police Jan Seva Sangathna asked the authority 13 questions ranging from the period of free maintenance Adani group entity will provide to flats that it will construct to rehabilitate the Dharavi and what would happen to those who came to reside in the slums posts January 2000 -- the cutoff date for determining eligibility for getting a flat.

Reached for comments, he confirmed to PTI that he has written the letter and asked the questions to which the authority has promised a response.

Extending support to the survey, Enlighten Foundation on August 20 wrote to SVR Srinivas, CEO of Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Ltd (DRPPL), saying, "the residents and the commercial premises owners are not against the project, nor the survey".

The survey "is opposed only by a handful of people who are against redevelopment and has vested interests. Most of the people who are opposing are not locals and have been living outside Dharavi and are oblivious to the living conditions of Dharavi," said Rajeshkumar Panirselvam, founder and president of Enlighten Foundation.

Panirselvam confirmed to PTI that he has written the said letter.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj CHS, a resident association from Dharavi, in its letter sought "going ahead with the survey and also the redevelopment project that has been halted for decades together. Many generations have passed by, waiting for the area to be redeveloped but only now we are witnessing a positive step".

Last month, Dharavi redevelopment project received a shot in the arm after a newly formed association of residents of Dharavi approached Srinivas and lent its support to the survey of informal tenements.

The survey, which began on March 18, 2024, has so far completed over 11,000 tenements via door-to-door visits, while numbering has been done on more than 30,000 tenements. This includes residential, commercial tenements and religious structures as well across Dharavi.

The Thevar Samajam which represents the largest Tamil community within Dharavi assured the DRPPL that local residents and commercial establishments are keen to see redevelopment and look forward to conducting business in Dharavi.

"We reiterate our support to you and DRPPL and would like to state that we are a part of the project, redevelopment and would like to be part of the history," Thevar Samajam said in its letter to Dharavi Authority.

Local youth groups, Dharavikar Iron Group and Om Shri Gauri Mitra Mandal in their letters offered to volunteer as facilitators for the survey.

"Dharavi's redevelopment has been delayed since many decades and the locals have been waiting for the same. We Dharavikars do not have access to basic amenities and we do not want our future generations to live like us. Therefore, redevelopment is of utmost importance. We are happy to support the same in any manner," said Dharavikar Iron Group in its memorandum.

The All India Police Jan Seva Sanghatana, which represents the interests of police and other government residences in Dharavi, requested the Dharavi administration to help clear the false propaganda against the project by means of a direct dialogue with the people.

"People are being misguided by vested interests. Please come and meet them so that the truth is being told," the association requested.

Previously, Dharavikars have also asked the administration to take legal action against those who are opposing the survey process.

Over 40 DRP survey teams are visiting each and every tenement, despite heavy rainfall and knee-deep waterlogged small bylanes of Dharavi, to ensure that no tenement is left behind. They will soon be ramped up to 100 teams in the near future.

Mapping of the roughly 600 acres of densely populated Dharavi is crucial for the redevelopment that is likely to take seven years to complete.

Eligible residents will get a 350 sq ft flat in the area once the project is completed, while ineligible residents will be rehoused elsewhere in Mumbai. It is Maharashtra government's first-ever policy where everyone, whether eligible or ineligible will get a home.

DRP, a Maharashtra government department, is conducting the survey, along with DRPPL, a joint venture between the Government of Maharashtra and the Adani Group, to collect data from lakhs of informal tenement residents of Dharavi to help the state government determine their eligibility criteria to aid rehabilitation under the proposed redevelopment project.

Starting from the 1950s, several state governments had floated tenders to redevelop Dharavi, but none took off.

The current redevelopment plan -- the state government's fourth attempt via a global tender -- is gaining local support. It is not a mere real estate project but a human transformation project.