MUMBAI: A low-key ceremony on Thursday morning marked the beginning of Dharavi’s revamp. A puja was organised in an area called Sector 6 in Matunga, marking the commencement of construction of the railway staff quarters and offices to be handed over to the government as mandated in the Dharavi redevelopment tender documents.
The ceremony was conducted by the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd (DRPPL), a joint venture between the Maharashtra government and the Adani Group. “Between 4 am and 7 am on Thursday, people gathered at the RPF Ground, Matunga, to perform the puja,” revealed locals. “At the time of the function, there were no residents or people from the anti-Dharavi redevelopment group to disrupt the function, thus it went off smoothly.”
The Dharavi Bachao Andolan (DBA), which is opposing the redevelopment, had withdrawn a chain hunger strike on Wednesday, after a request and assurance from the Mumbai police that no groundbreaking ceremony would be organised. The DBA’s advocate Raju Korde later issued a statement calling the ceremony a “deceit” and questioned if the developer who conducted the groundbreaking programme by misleading locals would ever be honest.
A DRPPL representative said that Thursday’s ceremony was in keeping with the tender conditions and also the first step in the Adani Group’s “commitment to creating a modern Dharavi”. “We are redeveloping one of the most densely populated clusters in the world,” he said. “We are committed to providing Dharavikars with a ‘key to key’ exchange, wherein existing residents have been guaranteed new homes within a stipulated time frame and without shifting to temporary accommodation.”
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The state government is currently conducting a door-to-door survey to determine eligible and ineligible residents. According to estimates, eligible residents will get 350-square-feet homes, and will have access to amenities such as new roads, hospitals, educational institutes and open spaces. These homes are reportedly 17% larger than Mumbai’s other slum rehabilitation projects.
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The ineligible residents have been classified into two sub-categories. Those from January 1, 2000 to January 1, 2011 will be given homes on ownership basis at affordable prices. The post-2011 tenement holders will be given homes under the state government’s affordable rental housing policy with an option of hire-purchase. All ineligible residents will be housed in townships created in different areas of Mumbai.
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“These new townships will be ultra-modern townships equipped with schools, hospitals, gardens and good roads,” claimed the DRPPL representative. “All eligible, non-polluting industries and commercial establishments will be rehabilitated in Dharavi itself. Better infrastructure will enable businesses to expand their enterprises while skilling and upskilling centres will help people acquire new knowledge, learn and increase their earning potential. Additionally, businesses will benefit from SGST reimbursement for five years.”
