The Adani group has infused about Rs 2,000 crore in the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP), the largest slum redevelopment initiative in Asia, which covers 640 acres in Mumbai.
The Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRPPL) is a joint venture between Gautam Adani’s Adani Group and the Maharashtra government. As the lead partner, Adani is responsible for constructing residential and commercial units for the project. The group won the bid for the project in 2022 and received final approval last year.
“We have already made the payment of Rs 1,000 crore to railways for the land they gave to us,” said SVR Srinivas, chief executive officer at Dharavi Redevelopment Authority. The railways allocated 27 acres of land to the project.
Srinivas said that the authority is also investing a substantial sum in a survey to count the number of tenements in Dharavi. He did not disclose the exact cost of the survey, which is expected to conclude in March 2025.
He added that they have also invested in staff appointments, with over 100 people currently working on the joint venture. In addition, the authority has refunded Rs 500 crore that it had received from the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).
Srinivas said that they aim to begin the Dharavi project and start constructing rehabilitation buildings on the railway land within four to six months. He mentioned that construction of railway facilities on the land is expected to start within the next one or two months. The JV plans to build between 15,000 and 20,000 units on the land located south of Dharavi.
“Once we complete eight to ten buildings, we will start shifting eligible families. In the next two to two and a half years, shifting can start,” he said.
Srinivas, a 1991 batch IAS officer, described the Dharavi project as one of the most challenging in his 34-year career. He referred to it as “the brownest of brownfield projects,” highlighting issues such as high population density, height restrictions due to nearby flight operations, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms because of its coastal location, the integration of residential and commercial properties, and proximity to the Mithi River.
He said it is “quite ambitious” to complete the project in seven years “but we are doing our best,” he said, adding: “SRA (slum redevelopment )projects of 200-300 tenements take that much But here we are talking about over1 lakh tenements,” he said.
He said they have also faced challenges in getting land parcels for the project. “We have asked many government organisations, but they have refused. The land has to be made available by the lead partner (Adani). If not those lands we asked for, something else has to be sourced.”
Although it has been announced that eligible residents will receive flats of 350 sq ft — larger than the 300 sq ft typically offered in other slum redevelopment projects — resident associations have been requesting even larger units. Srinivas did not comment on this matter.
Residents who held tenements on or before January 1, 2000, and currently live on ground floors will receive a free apartment in Dharavi itself. Those who moved in between January 1, 2000, and January 1, 2011, will be allocated homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in Mumbai upon payment of Rs 2.5 lakh. Residents who moved in after January 1, 2011, and live above ground floors are considered “ineligible” and will be provided rental accommodation with an option to purchase later on a “hire purchase” basis.
From: financialexpress
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