A new life has been injected into the Dharavi redevelopment project as the state government plans to come out with bids for the same later this month. dna's Ateeq Shaikh shares details of the ambitious plan to change the face of the largest slum in AsiaResidents of Dharavi — Asia's largest slum as well as largest small scale industries zone — have received new hope for a better livelihood as the state government finally plans to float global bids for the redevelopment project later this month. And if all goes according to the plan, the same will become reality in a span of seven years.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

On January 6, the proposed land use plan for Dharavi in line with the development plan was given in-principle approval by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The same is expected to be notified anytime soon.New cut-off date"Since the last study that was undertaken in 2008, there have been several developments on ground as well as rules regarding slums. As per the decision taken in 2014, the rule of January 1, 2000 will be followed," said Nirmal Deshmukh, chief executive officer, Dharavi Redevelopment Authority and Slum Rehabilitation Authority. Even the new transfer policy for slums will be followed by ownership.This brings in new lease of life for those who have bought shanties between January 1, 1995 and January 1, 2000. More locals will get homes in the planned multi-storied buildings. Those who reside on rented floors — not on the ground floor — will not be eligible to get rehabilitated under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project.BidsThe global bid to develop four of the five sectors of Dharavi is expected to be floated in this month. The fifth sector is already being developed by Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).Project costPegged at an estimated value of Rs5,000 to Rs7,000 crore for each sector, the entire money will be invested by the private player with the government not spending any money from the public funds.Rehabilitation tenement sizeIn 2004, when the project was announced 225sqft was to be given for each eligible structure. Due to persistent demand from the locals and their representatives, the carpet area size was increased in 2012 to 275sqft. Thereafter, it was again revised just before 2014 state elections to 300sqft. The latest offer is 350sqft against the demand of 400sqft.

Also Read: 'Dharavi not a slum; it's Asia’s largest small-scale industry'

Saleable componentIf the private builder develops 10sqmt of the built-up area of the rehabilitation component, then the builder will stand to get 13.33sqmt of the built-up area to sell in the open market. Therefore, even by conservative figures and as per the study done in 2008 there will be as many as 78,000 to 80,000 housing units of around 450sqft available for sale in the market.However, the reality is likely to be different as developers are doing their own survey to calculate total eligible structures in their own sector. Depending on the survey outcome, they will decide on the total number of apartments that will be constructed under the saleable component and the apartment size.Locals happy but skepticalLocals are welcoming the announcement but are also skeptical about it due to their experience of flip-flops in the past 12 years."We want Dharavi to develop and no one wants to live in a slum. But going by our experience, this announcement seems like a merry-go-round. If the government actually wants development, it is a great news for us," Raju Korde, convenor of Dharavi Bachao Andolan Samiti, a leftist organisation.Former Shiv Sena MLA from Dharavi Baburao Mane, too, is happy with the latest news. He said: "For the last 11 years we were fighting for an area of 400 sqft as the government agreed for 350 sqft., we welcome it and will not oppose the project."Concerns & other demandAmong the couple of concerns raised by Korde is the demand for the government to develop the area so that affordable housing stock can be created on the balance land that will be left post redevelopment. This will help in providing affordable housing well within Mumbai limits as landbank of MHADA has almost come to an end. "Or else it will turn out to be a sophisticated land grab by private players," said Korde."The only two demands left are to include those residing on private land for decades now and give corpus of Rs5 lakh to each eligible slumdweller," said Mane.The residents not only want a decent living and residential apartments, but also quality social infrastructure like medical centres, educational institutes, gardens, grounds, among others.Questions over total structuresOverall, the authorities as well as locals and their representatives agree that the survey carried out in 2008 by Mashaal, an non-government organisation, has several irregularities. Hundreds of structures were not covered. The survey, done with a sample size, states a total of 59,165 structures in Dharavi. But Mane claims there are nearly 1,20,000 in all the five sectors of Dharavi.

Also Read: Asia's biggest slum Dharavi to soon be a thing of the past

HISTORYIn the 18th century, Dharavi was an island with mangrove swamp. Daravi is the historical spelling of the area. A century later Koli fishermen started living here and then it was known as the village of Koliwadas. As urbanisation became a norm under the British Raj the city's population then reached around a million. The urban area then covered mostly the southern extension of Mumbai peninsula. Most parts of Mumbai faced acute shortage of housing and serious problems with the provision of water, sanitation and drainage. Residential areas were segregated in Mumbai between European and 'native' residential quarters. Unsanitary conditions plagued Mumbai, particularly in the so-called Native Town. In 1869, as with 19th century epidemics in European slums, plague spread in Mumbai and then across most of India. The epidemic killed nearly 2,00,000 people in Mumbai and 8 million in India. In 1880s, concerned about epidemics, the British colonial government expelled polluting industries and many Indian residents of the Native Town, away from the peninsular part of the city, to a distant edge of the city in the north in the village of Koliwadas. Thus was born Dharavi.DHARAVI & MOVIESSlumdog Millionaire, Kaminey, Businessman, Dharavi, Aamir, Traffic Signal, No Smoking, Bhoothnath Returns, Nayagan, Bombay, Footpath, Salaam Bombay, among others.DHARAVI & INDUSTIRESPottery, snacks, leather goods, rubber and plastic recycling units, scrap, electronic waste, handicraft, garments, embroidery, papads, foundries, restaurants, sweet-making, soap and detergent factories, bakeries, kite making, export oriented units, printing press, suitcase, umbrella manufacturing, etc.COMPLEX STRUCTURESEach structure or shanty in Dharavi has more than one family residing. Ground floor is occupied by the legal owner, but the floors above have been rented out. These families staying above aren't eligible under the project. Additionally, another complication is many ground floor structures have been divided into two (by putting partition) due to division in the family.STATISTICSFLOOR SPACE INDEX: 4PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION DURATION: 7 YearsAREAS ELIGIBLE (RESIDENTIAL): 300sqft + 50sqft (From Fungible FSI)AREAS ELIGIBLE (COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL): 225sqftTOTAL SECTORS: 5 (Sector 5 being developed by MHADA. One building ready)ESTIMATED COST: Rs5,000-7,000 crore per sector by the developerSTRUCTURES: 59,165 (As per 2008 study); 1,20,000 (Estimated figure By Dharavi representatives)AREA: 550 acresPOPULATION: 12,00,000 estimatedTEMPLES: 200-250MOSQUES: 33CHURCHES: 10-12GRAVEYARD: 1CEMETERY: 1SECTOR-WISE STRUCTURE BREAK-UP (AS DONE IN 2008)11,453: Sector-I14,427: Sector-II12,653: Sector-III11,245: Sector-IV09,387: Sector-V59,165: TotalRESIDENTIAL V/S COMMERCIAL BREAK-UP45,859: Residential330: Residential-Cum-Commercial12,976: Commercial and Industrial59,165: TotalAMENITIES & FACILITIES (TO BE BUILT BY DEVELOPERS)TOTAL AREA (ALL 5 SECTORS) & BUILDABLE AMENITY (In sqmt)56,668.58: Primary School56,668.58: Secondary School39,200.00: Dispensary, Maternity Homes & Polyclinics1,000.00: Welfare Centres, Gymnasium & Community Hall1,000.00: Library3,990.00: Fire Station1,330.00: Post Office3,990.00: Police Station15,694.00: Retail Market700.00: Police Chowky2,230.00: Potters InstituteAMENITIES & FACILITIES (NOT TO BE BUILT BY DEVELOPERS)TOTAL AREA (ALL 5 SECTORS) & NON-BUILDABLE AMENITY (In Hectares)0.06: BEST Bus Station1.30: BEST Receiving Station0.37: Pumping Station0.30: NID & Industrial Training Institute1.84: Parking Lot6.32: Recreational Open Public Spaces4.81: Recreation Ground2.50: Play Ground3.20: Mahim Rajiv Gandhi Nagar0.22: Potters Institute0.40: Tata PowerPROJECT TIMELINE2004: Dharavi Redevelopment Project Announced2007: Expression of Interest called and received response from 19 developers2008: Survey of Dharavi completed2009: Master plan of Dharavi Redevelopment Project completed2010: Out of 19, only six developers continued to show interest in the project2011: Bidding process terminated and master plan scrapped2013: Draft of new master plan at par with Development Plan prepared2014: The revised plan submitted to the state government2014: Slum regularisation cut-off date extended to 01/01/20002016: In-principle approval received from state government to go ahead with developing 4 sectorsTIMELINE: INCREASE IN TENEMENT AREA2004: 225 sqft2012: 275 sqft2014: 300sqft2016: 350sqft