Decode Politics: 25 years and counting, why Dharavi redevelopment is in political crossfire now

The ruling Mahayuti has labelled Uddhav “anti-development” for his stance.

What is the Dharavi Redevelopment Project?

Dharavi, a sprawling municipality slum successful the bosom of Mumbai, covers an country of 2.39 sq km and is location to an estimated 4 lakh residents, arsenic per the authorities Slum Rehabilitation Authority, and important informal industries. The redevelopment task aims to alteration the dense slum country into a “modern municipality locality” featuring high-rise towers and state-of-the-art infrastructure, portion relocating its existent residents to areas crossed the city.

The task promises that this housing, for some eligible and ineligible slum dwellers, volition beryllium wrong a 10-km radius of Dharavi, with further onshore parcels acceptable aside.

The program has been successful the works for implicit 2 decades, with the Maharashtra authorities handing implicit the task successful November 2022 to Adani Realty, whose Rs 5,069 crore connection outbid the DLF group’s connection of Rs 2,025 crore.

While the wide outgo of the task is expected to transcend Rs 20,000 crore, Adani Realty’s higher archetypal concern was a cardinal origin successful the tender award.

How did the task travel to beryllium awarded to Adani Realty?

The redevelopment task was archetypal projected by the BJP-(united) Shiv Sena authorities successful 1999, but remained stalled for years owed to delays and changes successful the scope of the project. The task gained momentum again successful 2016 nether a caller BJP-Sena government, led by Devendra Fadnavis, and successful November 2018, it approved a revised exemplary for Dharavi’s redevelopment.

In January 2019, Dubai-based Seclink Technologies Corporation was selected arsenic the winning bidder, but the tender was not awarded owed to objections implicit the inclusion of immoderate railway land, which was important to the redevelopment plans.

An MVA authorities led by Uddhav came to powerfulness aboriginal that twelvemonth and, successful October 2019, it cancelled the tender, citing delays successful the transportation of railway land.

But past successful June 2022, the MVA authorities fell and was replaced with a BJP-Eknath Shinde Sena government. Within months, caller tenders were issued regarding the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, and Adani Realty won the bid.

What are the MVA’s objections to the tendering process?

The Sena (UBT), on with different members of the Opposition MVA, person alleged that the project’s conditions were deliberately designed and the presumption of the tender changed to favour the Gautam Adani-led Adani Realty, including the allocation of further land, a Goods and Services Tax (GST) waiver, waivers connected the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), and concessions and discounts successful premium payment.

While Uddhav has said his enactment volition not let the authorities authorities to “gift Mumbai to Adani”, the Congress’s Varsha Gaikwad has called the task “Asia’s biggest operation scam” and claimed Adani stands to summation Rs 1 lakh crore from it. The allegations align with the Congress’s sustained run that the Adani Group has been a beneficiary of the Modi government’s largesse.

What are the different concerns regarding the project?

One of the large points of contention regarding the redevelopment is the immense onshore allocation. While the redevelopment is marketed arsenic a translation of Dharavi itself, the Mahayuti authorities has besides allocated to Adani Realty implicit 540 acres of onshore crossed Mumbai to rehabilitate residents.

Both Opposition leaders and biology activists person raised concerns implicit this. Aaditya Thackeray, a erstwhile authorities curate and Uddhav’s son, has accused the authorities of handing implicit invaluable land, portion environmentalists person said residents are being moved to “hazardous” sites similar dumping grounds and brackish pans.

Aaditya has besides said the government’s projected incentives, specified arsenic waivers connected the TDRs and premium charges, payment Adani Realty excessively, and vowed to scrap these “add-on” incentives if his enactment returns to power. “We volition guarantee that each Dharavi nonmigratory gets a location wrong Dharavi, and not successful far-flung areas of Mumbai, acold from their archetypal livelihoods,” helium said.

Officials person claimed the onshore allocations are intended for authorities usage and not for nonstop transportation to Adani Realty.

How has the ruling Mahayuti reacted to the Sena (UBT) manifesto?

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said that the MVA does not cognize thing “except putting a enactment connected projects and discontinuing them”. “What other tin we expect from the MVA? One-two lakh radical enactment successful mediocre conditions successful Dharavi, portion these leaders enactment successful large houses.”

Shinde has besides challenged the MVA to speech astir its improvement credentials. “They are lone copying the schemes we person announced. They are liars and the nationalist volition not judge them,” helium said.

Shinde Sena person and erstwhile Congress MP Milind Deora has besides called the Sena (UBT)’s Dharavi committedness “speed-breaker politics”, driven by “personal ego”.

Last December, aft Uddhav led a protestation march against the Dharavi project, Deputy CM Fadnavis had labelled him “anti-development” and said helium was trying to forestall mediocre radical from getting housing. BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar has asked wherefore having supported the task erstwhile helium was the CM, Uddhav had deed the streets now.

What are the governmental stakes involved?

The Dharavi Assembly spot is simply a Scheduled Caste-reserved constituency and was won successful 2019 by the Congress’s Mumbai main Varsha Gaikwad, who was elected to the Lok Sabha this year.

Dharavi falls nether the Mumbai South Central Lok Sabha seat, which was won this clip by the Sena (UBT) against the Shinde Sena’s sitting MP. The Sena (UBT) was ascendant crossed the constituency, winning 4 of the six Assembly segments, including Dharavi.

In the Assembly polls, Jyoti Gaikwad, the sister of Varsha, a three-time MLA, is the Congress campaigner against the Shinde Sena’s Ashish More successful Dharavi.