Dharavi redevelopment project caught in Maharashtra's poll crossfire

Oppn parties threaten to scrap India's largest real estate redevelopment project

(This copy has been updated)  The narrow, unclean bylanes of Dharavi slums are busier than usual amid the campaigns by different candidates that are contesting Maharashtra assembly elections from the Dharavi constituency. 

 

The constituency has become a political hotspot for the state elections, with the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP)  issue raised by the opposition parties. The Dharavi slums, spread across 600 acres of prime land in Central Mumbai, is being redeveloped by the Adani group after winning an auction in 2022 by the Bhartiya Janata Party led government. 

 

But in his several speeches,  Uddhav Thackeray, the former Maharashtra chief minister and the president of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and now an opposition leader, has threatened to cancel the tender awarded to the Adani Group if his party comes to power. "We will cancel the tender if we come to power," Thackeray said in a rally attended by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi last week in Bandra Kurla Complex -- just a few kilometres away from the slums.

 

 

Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL) is executing the project. DRP/Slum Rehabilitation Project (SRA) is a special body formed by the Maharashtra state government under the SRA. The Adani Group has an 80 per cent stake in the DRPPL, while the remaining stake is held by the state government. DRPPL will execute the project under the supervision of DRP/SRA.

 

Over one million people live in sub human conditions in the slums which has attracted migrants due to its low rents. As population grew, the single storey slums converted into as high as four floors unsafe houses. As per the plan, while legal residents identified in the survey conducted in 2024 will be given free houses in the same area, others will be shifted to other parts of Mumbai in land provided by the state government.

 

"They (some contesting candidates) have decided not to move out of Dharavi. One of the election candidates is saying “makan ke badle makan aur dukan ke badle dukan” through their campaigns. It’s fine if it (a house for a house and a shop for a shop) happens,” said Sohanlal, who runs an ice cream shop on lease and also is a resident of Dharavi’s Kumbharwada area. 

 

As per the tender document, individuals with the ground-floor residential structures built on and before January 1, 2000 will get homes of 350 square feet (sq ft) within Dharavi only, which is 17 per cent more than any other SRA project in Mumbai.

 

Further, individuals with ground-floor residential structures built between January 1, 2000, and January 1, 2011 will be eligible for 300 sq ft of homes outside Dharavi for Rs 2.5 lakh under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (PMAY).

 

Individuals with the upper-floor structures and the structures that are existing after January 1, 2011 are ineligible to get homes in Dharavi. Such ineligible residents will get rental accommodation of 300 sq ft outside Dharavi. As per a project-related source, the rent will be decided and collected by an authorised state government body only, and the ineligible residents will also have the option of hire-purchase.

 

However, the residents with upper-floor structures expressed resistance to the rule. Mukta, Dharavi's resident woman in her 70s, said, “We have been living here for the last 70 years. Our fifth generation is living here. Nobody will move out of here. We lived here when there used to be mud up to the knees. Won’t we survive from here on? What about the upper-floor structures, the old businesses?”

 

Chetan Joshi, another resident of Dharavi, said, “People have homes of about 1,000 to even 1,600 sq ft, combining all the floors, even better than flats. How much space can they give? They are speaking about 350 sq ft. One of us has three floors of 350 sq ft each. Then what will happen in 350 sq ft? What about the rest of the space? Our families will be divided.”

 

Joshi further emphasised that he won’t move out of Dharavi. “There was a time when there was nothing in Dharavi and the conditions were too bad. Why didn’t they develop it then only? We have struggled for every single square foot. Even today, sometimes we face problems while repairing our roofs. If we try, the authorities come and ask questions. Nothing can be done without bribes,” he added. Joshi also runs a small general store on a side of a narrow lane in Dharavi where even the sunlight struggles to get in.

 

However, as per the project-related personnel, eligibility or ineligibility criteria are in line with the tender of the project, which was issued by the government. “In SRA projects, the eligibility or ineligibility criteria are as per the government rules. The DRPPL doesn’t have any role whatsoever in this, just apart from building the homes and handing them over to the state government,” said one of the personnel who did not wish to be named.

 

Furthermore, as per the tender document, all the non-polluting and eligible commercial or industrial structures (ground-floor structures existing on and before January 1, 2000) will be rehabilitated in Dharavi itself, with a space of 225 sq ft to be allotted, free of cost; space more than 225 sq ft will be given at construction rate with telescopic reduction method.

 

“Some are fine (with the redevelopment), but certain people are concerned, especially the people into recycling businesses, because they have got a lot of space here,” said Sohanlal.

 

In Dharavi’s case, scrap recycling businesses would be rehabilitated “according to the state government’s policy, which is in making,” said a relevant source. As per a Supreme Court’s judgement, polluting industries should be moved to less populated areas. The eligible businesses like leather goods manufacturing, garment manufacturing, food processing, imitation jewellery, etc. will be rehabilitated within Dharavi only.

 

Several residents support the project. “Half the people occupied the space out here a long time ago. People are going to get bigger homes. Sane people should be ready for the redevelopment. I am ready to shift outside Dharavi, if required,’ said Sohanlal, while a man who joined the conversation later said, “It is fine (the redevelopment), but they haven’t come here for a survey.”

 

“A few politically motivated individuals sometimes hinder the survey process, but it’s temporary. The work resumes within a couple of hours. There’s no resistance from people in Dharavi, and the company is trying to educate people regarding the project,” said a source close to the project.

 

However, Joshi believes that there’s a lack of transparency. “Another thing is that residents are asking for confirmation regarding the place where they will be rehabilitated; they want proof because they have businesses here,” said Sohanlal.

 

In April 2024, the DRP acquired about 28 acres of the total 45 acres of land adjacent to Dharavi from the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA).

 

So far, Rs 2,000 crore has been invested in the project, including Rs 1,000 crore for the above-mentioned land parcel and another Rs 1,000 crore for surveying and other purposes.

 

In its cabinet meeting held on September 30, 2024, the government of Maharashtra approved the utilisation of salt pan land parcels in Kanjur, Bhandup, and Mulund for rental homes, SRA projects, affordable homes, and homes for economically weaker sections. Of the total, approved 255.9 acres of land, some land parcels would be used for the rehabilitation of ineligible Dharavi residents.

 

In the same meeting, an affordable rental housing scheme for ineligible slum dwellers in Dharavi was also approved.

 

In its October 10 cabinet meeting, the government approved available parts of a 140-acre land parcel in Borivali in the western suburbs to be utilised by DRP/SRA. Further, as per a report by The Hindu, 124.3 acres of Deonar dumping ground land was approved by the government of Maharashtra for the rehabilitation of Dharavi residents in its cabinet meeting held on October 14, 2024.

 

However, Aditya Thackeray, son of Uddhav Thackeray and a member of the legislative assembly (MLA) from Mumbai’s Worli constituency, raised objections about land allocation. He pointed out the premium exemptions granted to the project-related entities according to the tender. “Rs 5,000 crore that are supposed to come to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from all the premiums are exempted and are to be paid to self, to DRPPL, or to SRA. Why should whatever that is supposed to come to BMC go to SRA or to Mr. Adani?,” he asks.

 

However, one of the people working with the project informed that some of the approved lands are owned by the central government, which will be handed to the state government and then to the DRP/SRA. None of the lands will be owned by the Adani Group or the DRPPL. “The DRPPL will only build the homes for ineligible people out there and handover those back to the state government authorities. Only those authorities will be responsible for collecting the rent and for allotting those units,” he added.

 

Aditya Thackeray also raised questions over the transferable development rights (TDR) and the project’s floor space index (FSI), which is 4.0 according to the tender. He was speaking in a gathering organised by the Mumbai Press Club and Mumbai First. 

 

As per the sources, the company estimates the space within Dharavi to be enough to rehabilitate the eligible residents. And even if it’s not, the eligible residents will have to be rehabilitated within Dharavi anyway, as per the tender conditions. This may result in a reduction in space for the company’s sale component.

 

With Shiv Sena (UBT) announcing its intention to cancel the project’s tender, the residents of Dharavi are uncertain about the project’s future.

 

“We can’t say anything. We will only know everything after the elections. It (cancellation of the project) depends on who comes into the power,” said Sohanlal.

 

“Only the very important people get to know that (the project’s future). We don’t know anything. If everyone says yes, if everyone gets homes, then we are ready (for the redevelopment). Besides, how does our choice matter? If it’s happening, it should happen; if it’s not happening, what can we say?” said another resident.

 

As per the sources, the surveys are underway, with more than 15,000 homes being already surveyed. The master plan has been submitted to the government, and in response, the government has submitted some queries. The plan will be reworked upon considering those queries and will need some time for the resubmission.

 

No construction has started as the project needs permissions from the central and state ministries of Environment and Forests and the BMC. It will take at least 1-1.5 years for the construction to start, said a source.

 

“We are not against him (Adani) redeveloping it. Our priority is if you are doing something in the city, do it within the confines of the law. Let the city also prosper and let everyone get homes," Thackeray said.