It was during the 90s when for the first time the redevelopment of Dharavi was declared. Mukesh Mehta (architect and owner of a real state and slum development firm) proposed his vision and design regarding the redevelopment of Dharavi. This gave immense cheer and hope to the people living in Dharavi. But unfortunately, Activists and social workers protested and demanded the government not consider this proposal. And from here on the story of the Dharavi redevelopment project start.
Congress fails to complete promises in 2004
From 1995 to 2004 there were no effective changes that were taking place in this matter. But in 2004 the congress-led government under the leadership of CM Vilasrao Deshmukh decided to take this project further. Dharavi’s geographical area is around 600 acres and hence they decided to divide it into 5 sectors so that it will be easy to plan and execute the process. And for the same, they were soon going to float the tender. But it took “3” years to issue the tender. In that three years, they only made fancy departments to divide the initiatives and role plans but on the ground, they had zero development. After the tender got issued in 2007, BMC surveyed Dharavi and they said it has 2 lakh hutments and among them only 69,160 are legal, so basically 37% of people were legally living there and 67% were illegal houses. So instead of tackling this issue, the government decided to cancel it. And for the second time, in 2011 redevelopment of Dharavi got cancelled.
Vengeance kept over the public interest. (BJP-Sena)
In 2016 Fadnavis government also tried to revive this project but things were not landing in their favor as the floated tender failed to attract any bidders. Then again in 2018, bidding took place and things were going as planned and a UAE-based firm (sea link) won the bid. If we analyse the timeline it’s the same timeline as when Shiv Sena broke their coalition with BJP and formed their government with MVA. So the bidding procedure of the project was completed, and suddenly the government brought out another issue that wasn’t there this whole time. At that time the BJP-Sena relationship was not on good terms and it impacted the Dharavi project also. As we know Dharavi is widened in a huge geographical area it also covers some railway land in itself. So basically some piece of railway land is been encroached on by slum dwellers. Udhav Thackeray, CM of that time said the centre (BJP) is been messing around with us as they are not transferring the land (kanjurmarg land) to the state. Hence for the fourth time, the project was cancelled. This is how the system works as vengeance and agenda are kept before the welfare of society.
Can Shinde-fadnavis prosper Dharavi’s future
Currently, the project has great momentum as big players get involved. So after the collapse of Udhav Thackrey’s Shivsena in Maharashtra. BJP again formed the government with the newly formed Balashahebs Shivasena. CM Eknath Shinde brought the project to life again and this time it seems to have a good stance from political as well as investor aspects. BJP is at the centre so politically there won’t be any delays for approval and things like that, on the other hand, this time tender Is in the hands of countries biggest player i.e. Adani groups. They won the bid for Rs 5,069 crore and are ready to invest 20,000 crores in the project. It will give adani 80% of equity to hold and the rest 20% will be in the hands of the government. Every owner will get a 350 sq. ft. room but there are some criteria to acquire the same, owner having land from 2000 to 2011 have to pay for the houses but those who have been living there before 2000 will get the houses for free. Let’s hope that this time political agenda doesn’t bring out any obstacles in the process.
Condition in slums of Mumbai: why redevelopment is a concern
Being a city on the peninsula makes the living standard high, and being the financial capital provides the people with great opportunities. So it’s pretty sure that more and more people will migrate from the parts of the country where opportunities are less, but as they don’t have so much capital to sustain in the situation here, so they will have to find their way through. That’s the reason the population in the slums of Mumbai has been increasing every day. 52% of Mumbai’s population lives in slums. And every day they face issues like pollution, bad sanitation, water, and many basic necessities. There was one toilet for every 1400 people in slums around 2014. So imagine what kind of life they have been living. And Dharavi is Asia’s biggest slum where you’ll find industries of various types. And increasing population brings a more and more congested environment and people are getting frustrated there. Imagine the period of covid. When there was a whole lockdown and 14 to 15 people were living in a single room, how they managed the situation is unthinkable. So it’s fair to concentrate on such development issues and not prioritize politics over it.