Maharashtra’s big-ticket Dharavi project broken into pieces

For the past eight years, the state government’s ambitious Dharavi redevelopment project has regularly hit a roadblock.

The Rs15,000-crore project has been reduced to a mere nothing as the state government will now develop Asia’s biggest slum under 3K (a term where bids called for a project are cancelled and the proposal is then given to an authority without floating tenders).

Under the new plan, part of Dharavi’s sector 5 (over 300 slums) will be developed by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) in phases instead of the ‘twin-city’ model.

As part of the first phase, Mhada plans to construct 14-storey buildings to accommodate residents of 344 tenements over the 2sqkm area of sector 5.

The rooms will measure 300sqft. Of Mhada’s Rs6,459 crore budget for the year, only Rs45 crore have been allocated for the redevelopment plan of sector 5. Of this, Rs25 crore will be used to construct on 0.3 hectares of land while the remaining amount will be used to appoint a consultant who will chalk out details for the project.

Mhada CEO Satish Gavai is hopeful of the commencement of the project. “We have issued a tender for the construction of houses in sector 5. Hopefully, the project will be completed in a couple of months once work starts,” he said.

“We are developing our own plot and therefore, we will not need to displace anyone. The locals will see the construction quality of Mhada and it will boost their confidence,” said a senior Mhada official.

A couple of years ago, then vice-president of Mhada, Gautam Chatterjee, submitted plans to develop sector 5 as a twin-city model with commercial units on ground and first floors and accommodation for locals above that. A small township with all facilities, including markets, schools and hospitals, was designed for Dharavi then.