Many Dharavi leather units to be shifted to a swanky space in Deonar

The state government in Mumbai is planning to set up an industrial park near the Deonar abattoir to boost the leather industry in Dharavi. The park will have over 100 showrooms and other facilities to support the industry. The plan is aimed at encouraging younger generations to take up the traditional leather industry and provide alternative space for industrial units relocated from Dharavi. The government is also planning a mega cluster for leather industries in Raigad.

Mumbai: The leather industry in Dharavi is set to get a shot in the arm with the state government’s plan to set up an industrial park on a two-acre land parcel near the Deonar abattoir. The park will have more than 100 showrooms and other ancillary facilities including a design studio, testing lab, common facility studio, marketing and export centers, a training center, among others.

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Leather Industries Development Corporation of Maharashtra (Lidcom), a state government undertaking, has chalked out the plan and appointed a consultant for its design. Dhammajyoti Gajbhiye, managing director of Lidcom, said such an enterprise was needed, as the number of leather units in Dharavi have dwindled over the years. While there were over 200 tanneries 50 years ago there are none now. The raw material is sourced from Kanpur, Devas, Kolkata, and Chennai, and production is carried out in 400 units, with only five percent local participation.

“Youngsters from the community of traditional leather industry are not interested to take the legacy forward,” observed Gajbhiye. “The idea behind the park at the Deonar is to inculcate an interest among the youngsters and help the industrial units relocated from Dharavi to get alternative space.” He added that the new facilities will be available only to the locals affiliated to Lidcom in Dharavi and other parts of the state, on lease.

“The consultant appointed will study the available FSI, the environmental approval needs, and the total funding that is needed. Lidcom has the seed capital of ₹1000 crore of which a sizeable amount will be used for this enterprise. We will present the proposal to the state government soon,” said another official from the corporation.

Given that Dharavi is poised for a facelift under the Dharavi Redevelopment Plan, Manohar Raibage, president of Leather Goods Manufacturers Association said the move was only an attempt to facilitate the corporate house (Adani Group) in getting benefits of FSI and TDR by increasing the land cost. “It is not to safeguard our interest. They want to develop Dharavi on the lines of BKC and elbow out the leather industry, which is considered a low market business. It is a backdoor arrangement to shift Dharavi industry to Deonar,” said Raibage. “We had demanded a dedicated plot at Govandi, Deonar or Bhiwandi for the Dharavi industrial unit many years ago, but Lidcom paid no heed to it. The government chalks out many such schemes and projects but they never reach us due to the lack of practicability.”

He said the manufacturers of Dharavi feel that like residential units, the commercial units too will not get the space they occupy currently. “The units that are being offered are on the basis of the surveys done in 2005, after which they have grown in size. Their plan is to relocate us on the plot acquired from Railway in a corner and set up a plush township in the existing area. Our units that have already been depleted in numbers will be thrown out from Dharavi,” added Raibage.

Meanwhile, the state government is also planning a mega cluster for leather industries on 151 acres in Ratwad, near Mangaon in Raigad. The cluster with the investment of ₹250 crore, is backed by the central and state governments with a 50:50 ratio of investments. It is expected to serve as a hub for industrial collaboration, innovation and growth and cater to manufacturers, suppliers, designers and artisans.

“Lidcom has offered to shoulder the responsibility of establishing the cluster by lending financial and other support,” said Gajbhiye.