Dharavi’s makeover is finally inching closer to reality. Today at 6 pm, the Dharavi Development Authority (DDA) will unveil the names of the five consortiums that have quoted the highest price to win the rights to redevelop Asia’s largest slum colony.
Located close to the financial and business district of Bandra-Kurla Complex where real estate is as high as Rs20,000 per sq ft, the objectives of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) is not exactly altruistic. In exchange for rehabilitating 60,000 shanties (divided into five zones of approximately 100 acres each) in 14 to 18-storey buildings spread across 542 acres with free homes of 300 sq ft and commercial units, the developers will have the right to develop almost 4.3 crore sq m to sell in the open market.
Despite the government drawing up a master plan that protected the people’s livelihood, locals are still unhappy. A group of residents under Dharavi Bachao Samitti are set to hold a demonstration outside the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) building to protest the redevelopment scheme.
Jiviben, a resident of Khumbharwada, said“I have been living in Dharavi for the past 50 years. If I am relocated to a multi-storey building, I won’t have the space to make pots?’’
Suresh Kotian, owner of General Mechanical works which manufactures kitchen machinery equipment in a 2,400 sq ft industrial gala at Dharavi since 1993, said, “I am still unsure as to how much space I will get in the redevelopment. I do not mind as long as I get the space to earn my livelihood.’’
As per a survey by Mashal, a Pune-based agency, the average monthly salary of a Dharavi resident is estimated to be Rs13,000 to Rs15,000. There are over 4,500 industrial units, including tanneries, packaging units and chemical manufacturers which generate an estimated Rs2,000 crore in annual revenues.
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