Dharavi residents launch signature campaign seeking transparency in revamp project

The signature campaign was launched at the Matunga Labour Camp on Saturday, days after Pranav Adani, Director of Adani Enterprises Limited, performed the official groundbreaking ceremony for the project on October 12

Mumbai: More than years after work on the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) commenced on ground, residents of sector 1 in Dharavi, the first to be impacted by the massive revamp project, have initiated a signature campaign demanding transparency and accountability in the rehabilitation process.

The signature campaign was launched at the Matunga Labour Camp on Saturday

“The campaign will continue throughout this entire week,” said Reedan Fernando, co-organiser of the ‘No Master Plan, No Construction’ campaign, “We are concerned about the entire process due to lack of transparency and non-disclosure of the redevelopment master plan even as people are being evicted from their homes.”

The signature campaign was launched at the Matunga Labour Camp on Saturday, days after Pranav Adani, Director of Adani Enterprises Limited, performed the official groundbreaking ceremony for the project on October 12, at the 22-acre railway plot next to the labour camp.

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited, which was later renamed Adani Navbharat Developers Private Limited (ANDPL), had held a low-key groundbreaking ceremony in September 2024 owing to stiff resistance from local residents.

The points include public disclosure of the master plan, public suggestions and objections, written clarification regarding rehabilitation, protection of rehabilitation and housing rights, signing of Permanent Alternate Accommodation Agreement (PAAA) prior to eviction, transparency in surveys and rehabilitation records, protection of businesses and livelihoods, disclosure of approvals and construction status, independent grievance redressal mechanism, protection of public amenities and community infrastructure, and a meeting of residents’ representatives with the chief minister, concerned government authorities, the DRP administration, and ANDPL, the developer.

Fernando said that pushing ahead with the redevelopment project without taking residents into confidence raises questions about transparency. Redevelopment should proceed only by protecting residents’ rights and considering their demands, he said.

An ANDPL spokesperson said the company was working closely with the DRP and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) under the state government to make the master plan public at the earliest.

“The master plan will be made public by DRP/SRA at the appropriate stage. Over 3,000 individual rental agreements have already been signed with residents who have vacated or are in the process of vacating their premises and they are in process of getting notarised.”

The spokesperson did not respond to queries regarding when the inhabitants’ consent would be taken, and how many PAAAs had been signed.