More hurdles for Dharavi revamp

The Dharavi Redeve-lopment Project, conceived seven years ago to turn India’s largest slum into a plush township, continues to face hurdles.

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project, conceived seven years ago to turn India’s largest slum into a plush township, continues to face hurdles.

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Mashal, a non-government organisation assigned the task of conducting a biometric survey of slumdwellers at Dharavi, has said that 31% of the residents in sector 5, which the state housing agency wants to develop, are not eligible for free houses under the project because they moved to Dharavi after January 1, 2000. The state government has said only those who started living in Dharavi before this date can benefit from the project.

According to Mashal, more than 2,900 of the total 9,300 houses in the sector have changed hands in the last 11 years. Mashal has also pulled out of the survey citing non-cooperation from the slumdwellers and financial compulsions.