Ownership of 1,250 acres of land for Dharavi project to remain with government

Sources said land parcels are to be transferred only to Dharavi Redevelopment Project/Slum Rehabilitation Authority of the state government’s housing department

Mumbai: After a controversy erupted over handing over 1,250 acres of land to the Adani group for the multi-crore Dharavi slum redevelopment project, a source close to the project clarified that the ownership of the huge land parcel will remain with the state government-led Dharavi Redevelopment Project and company will only use development rights for rehabilitation of Dharavi residents.

Mumbai, India - July 9, 2020: A general view of Dharavi, a COVID-19 hotspot in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, July 9, 2020. (Photo by Satyabrata Tripathy/Hindustan Times) (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Denying allegations of land grab made by MP Varsha Gaikwad, sources close to the project said land parcels are to be transferred only to Dharavi Redevelopment Project/Slum Rehabilitation Authority (DRP/SRA) of the state government’s housing department.

Adani Group, which won the Dharavi slum redevelopment project in open international bidding, will build tenements - housing and commercials - through its joint venture company Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Ltd (DRPPL) with the Maharashtra government, again hand them over to DRP/SRA of the Maharashtra government for allocation as per survey findings.

Trying to clear misconceptions over the project, sources said as per the tender, the land remains allocated to DRP/SRA at rates decided by the government. DRPPL has to pay the government as per demand just for the development.

While DRPPL gets development rights, the state support agreement, which is part of the tender document, clearly says that the state government will support the project by giving land to its own DRP/SRA department.

On the issue of allocation of railway land, where the first rehabilitation units are to be built for the first set of Dharavi residents, sources said it was allocated to DRP even before tendering, for which DRPPL has paid a whopping premium of 170 per cent to the prevailing ready reckoner rates.

Calling allegations that residents of Dharavi will be thrown out of Dharavi and rendered homeless as pure fictional and a mere figment to create anxiety amongst the masses, sources said the government’s 2022 order provides for a condition that each and every tenement holder of Dharavi, eligible or ineligible, will be given a home. No one in Dharavi will be displaced under the DRP/SRA scheme, they insisted.

Last week fresh controversy erupted after the June 10 order by the state government to allocate extra 21 acre land at Kurla for a rehabilitation project. On Friday, Dharavi Bachao Andolan co-ordinator Raju Korde and later MP Varsha Gaikwad slammed the Adani group led DRPPL for acquiring the land.

This sparked a new row as socio-political activists called it a land scam in the name of the Dharavi project. The official said that this is a misunderstanding. “The land across Mumbai will not come under the ownership of Adani group though it’s a big partner in DRPPL. The tender clearly mentions that the lead partner (in this case Adani group will bring in 80% equity and remaining 20% equity will rest with the government. So there is no question of a 50-50 partnership in project.” said the official.