Boost for Dharavi’s sector 5 revamp

The Dharavi redevelopment project, which has been in a limbo for the past seven years, received a boost when chief minister Prithviraj Chavan directed officials to send him a feasibility report to revamp one area — sector 5.

The Dharavi redevelopment project, which has been in a limbo for the past seven years, received a boost when chief minister Prithviraj Chavan directed officials to send him a feasibility report to revamp one area — sector 5.

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The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) had proposed in June last year to redevelop sector number 5 on its own.

Sector 5 faces the lucrative financial and banking district of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), and has few encroachments. Mhada had claimed that the step would boost the revamp in India’s largest slum and also result in creation of approximately 5,000 low-cost houses.

Gautam Chaterjee, state housing secretary, who floated the proposal when he was the vice-president of Mhada, said Chavan had asked the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority officials to submit a detailed plan on January 31.

The officials are mainly working on plans like reducing the height of the buildings, amenities to be offered and also how to make the whole proposal viable.

The Dharavi Bachao Samitee, a body fighting for transparency in the revamp, has welcomed the initiative.

“Our only concern is that Mhada should provide us with good quality houses and the local enterprise should not be disrupted,” said Raju Kode, president of the samitee.

One of the major hurdles in the Dharavi revamp plan has been the eligibility factor. Nearly 63% people in sector 3 were found to be non-eligible for free houses. Also, 12 of the 19 developers have pulled out of the race to redevelop the area.