MUMBAI: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis cleared the much-awaited master plan to redevelop Dharavi slums on Wednesday after an hour-long meeting with the stakeholders of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL) who made a presentation. The master plan will serve as a strategic roadmap, guiding the planning and execution of this large-scale cluster redevelopment project, which will integrate residential, commercial and industrial spaces, within and beyond Dharavi.
The space is being envisaged as an annexe to the finance and business hub of Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), which is 5.5 kilometers from Dharavi.
Dharavi spans 620 acres, of which 296 acres have been earmarked for redevelopment. In January 2024 a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) was formed comprising the government of Maharashtra’s Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) and the Gautam Adani-owned Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt. Ltd (NMDPL) to transform Dharavi. Apart from the transformation, the project also aims to rehabilitate 0.7 million residents.
At the meeting, Fadnavis insisted on “a holistic eco-friendly approach to the project”, and emphasied that “everyone must be rehabilitated through the plan”.
Later in the evening, in a post on X, Fadnavis said, “Dharavi redevelopment will move ahead without losing its soul!” He termed the neighbourhood as “a locality that represents a powerful micro-economy built on skilled labour, artisans, micro-enterprises and underprivileged communities”. He said it was important to “retain this spirit while unlocking new opportunities for the future”.
SVR Srinivas, CEO of DRPPL, who participated in the meeting, said, “Now that the master plan has been cleared, the bigger challenge lying ahead is to make it a reality. As of now 1.02 lakh odd tenements have been surveyed. We expect the total tenements to be around 1.30 lakh with a margin of 10% here and there. The survey is expected to be completed in the next two months.”
Another official, who was in the meeting, said, “While various decisions have been taken, formal orders are yet to be issued by the urban development and housing departments.” Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, present in the meeting, asked all concerned departments to hasten necessary approvals.
Architect and developer Mukesh Mehta, who first prepared and presented the plan of redevelopment to Bal Thackeray, welcomed the decision and said: “This is a confirmation that the government is serious about executing the long-awaited transformation project of Dharavi. It will fulfil the dreams of the urban poor of this slum pocket and give hope to crores of underprivileged across the world.”
Karunanidhi Kanan, an advocate and resident of Dharavi sounded a critical note as he said, “If this is the way forward, the least we expect is transparency in determining eligibility of people to own properties in Dharavi. The Adani Group-led NMDPL should setup camps across Dharavi to check documents of Dharavikars. If they come across any shortcoming, they should help them put their documents in order. This is how surveys on most government-backed projects are done.”
He criticised the government’s plan to move out “the ineligible to far-flung salt pan lands or a cleared-out dumping ground”.
Opposing the move, Mumbai Congress chief, Varsha Gaikwad said, “Dharavikars have been betrayed yet again. The CM has today approved the master plan without consultation or adherence to due legal process. People of Dharavi have consistently opposed the redevelopment plan, especially as the survey for tenements are still on.”