{"id":118710,"date":"2024-08-21T18:25:07","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T18:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/21\/what-next-for-dharavi\/"},"modified":"2024-08-21T18:25:07","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T18:25:07","slug":"what-next-for-dharavi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/21\/what-next-for-dharavi\/","title":{"rendered":"What next for Dharavi?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"What<\/div>


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Adnan Syed, 24, is in high spirits nowadays, thanks to his team\u2019s win at the first ever T10 Dharavi<\/a> Premier League cricket tournament. Sitting in his 85 square feet house in Dharavi\u2019s labour camp, a beaming Syed says, \u201cIt is all over social media and press. We won `1 lakh prize money.\u201d <\/p>\n

The tournament, supported by Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Ltd<\/a> (DRPPL), a JV between the Adani Group<\/a> and Maharashtra government, is part of the effort to win the hearts of the folks in Dharavi\u2014Asia\u2019s largest slum spread over 600 acres. Adani\u2019s bid worth `5,029 crore for the redevelopment contract was 2.5x the next highest, an indicator of its eagerness to make it happen. <\/p>\n

Starting from the 1950s, many proposals have been floated to redevelop Dharavi. But none took off. The current plan is the state\u2019s fourth attempt since 2004.<\/p>\n

Redevelopment should normally be a good thing, especially for a ghetto that hundreds of thousands call home. <\/p>\n

But then Dharavi is not just another neighbourhood. Culturally, economically, politically, historically, it is the marker of India of a certain era, not to mention a living, thriving, vibrant economy by itself. <\/p>\n

Transforming it isn\u2019t as simple as the conversion of swathes of textile mill-land in Lower Parel to swanky malls and tall, thin skyscrapers.<\/p>\n

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This is India\u2019s most complicated real estate<\/a> redevelopment, smack bang in the middle of India\u2019s overcrowded business capital, and the subject of a decades long political tug-of-war.<\/p>\n

That is perhaps expected, considering the neighbourhood in question. The Dharavi of Deewar (1975) was where angry young men taking on the establishment were birthed. <\/p>\n

Economically, Dharavi\u2019s redevelopment is emblematic of India\u2019s journey to becoming a more organised, less informal economy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Politically, it remains a hot potato, an issue which consolidates votes on one hand and corruption in the other, often within the same party. <\/p>\n

Culturally Dharavi is an emblem of Indian ingenuity\u2014jugaad\u2014so much comes out of so little. <\/p>\n

Dharavi was also the sponge that could always take in migrants, who moved to Mumbai<\/a> in droves over the last many decades, thanks to its proximity to the heart of the city in distance but not in rents. <\/p>\n

Here, dirt and disease coexist with hope and entrepreneurship<\/a>. So how will it all come to be, now that everything could finally change?<\/p>\n

UNDERSTANDING DHARAVI<\/h2>\n

According to realty industry experts, the project will test Adani\u2019s resilience, capability, and execution skills to the limit. \u201cThis is not a regular slum redevelopment project in Mumbai,\u201d said SVR Srinivas, CEO Dharavi Redevelopment Project<\/a> (DRP)\/Slum Rehabilitation Authority, Government of Maharashtra. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s because amid Mumbai\u2019s sprawling maze of humanity, Dharavi has long been a cauldron of contradictions.<\/p>\n

Prior to 1884, it was a small fishing village surrounded by mangroves and mudflaps. But in the mid-1880s, after a few tanneries relocated and more people poured into Dharavi. <\/p>\n

Today, the settlement houses several business establishments that support thousands of families. Its thriving informal economy, which serves as a livelihood source for its residents, is a key node in Mumbai\u2019s economic fabric.<\/p>\n

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It spans industries from leather and textiles to pottery and recycling. What began as humble, makeshift enterprises evolved over decades into a bustling ecosystem generating an estimated annual turnover of over $1 billion, employing thousands in its complex alleys and workshops. <\/p>\n

\u201cBrand Dharavi is known globally. We export all over the world,\u201d says Rahman Master, who owns three workshops that make cotton shirts for international brands, which he refuses to name due to the nature of this business.<\/p>\n

Rahman employs nearly 50 people in these workshops, equipped with modern dress making machinery. \u201cWhy only textiles, Dharavi\u2019s exports include finished goods such as leather, jewellery and other accessories,\u201d he pointed out.<\/p>\n

The aforementioned $1 billion is the aggregate earnings of an estimated 5,000 businesses. These include nearly 15,000 singleroom factories with 2.5 lakh workers earning a living across different industries. Most of them are in food processing, pottery, leather, accessories and garment manufacturing and, of late, plastic recycling. <\/p>\n

According to a survey done by an NGO \u2014Mashaal\u2014in 2009, textile, tailoring and garment manufacturing was the biggest industry with around 30% of commercial and industrial structures used for it. Leather products came next at 18%. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe represent Mumbai\u2019s largest entrepreneurial hub, generating crores of rupees from diverse industries,\u201d says Ahmed Shah, a supplier of menswear to leading apparel stores across the country. A few alleys away, in the iconic Kumbharwada, more than 1,500 families work in pottery, and export designer clay products across the world. <\/p>\n

THE PITCH AND THE PROMISE<\/h2>\n

Life in Dharavi isn\u2019t easy, and the drive for entrepreneurship is more an outcome of survival instincts. <\/p>\n

Promises of a better life have come and gone. With the latest effort seemingly gathering more momentum than others, there is some cause for optimism, albeit of the cautious kind. <\/p>\n

Dhayabhai Parmar, who runs a small outlet on the 90 feet road in Dharavi, isn\u2019t kidding when sharing that, \u201cwhile we are looking forward to a better life, we are still awaiting clarity over the future of our business. Where and how are we going to be rehabilitated and how will we continue our work.\u201d <\/p>\n

From their point of view, it is that yearning for a better life that is at the heart of the decades-long call for redevelopment. <\/p>\n

Beyond the romantisisation of the slumdog millionaire, it is obvious that the quality of life is nothing to write home about. Squalor abounds, disease spreads easily, hygiene is suspect, and life is hard. <\/p>\n

The redevelopment project, which has been in the works for decades, got real when Adani<\/a> Realty beat DLF and Naman Developers to be part of the DRPPL in late 2022.<\/p>\n

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Hafeez Contractor, a renowned architect, is designing the project plan, and he reckons the redevelopment will set a global benchmark. \u201cWe are creating a city within a city that will be remembered for centuries to come. The kind of landscaped gardens in open spaces are massive. Like the central garden that we are planning, it is going to be as big as the Oval Maidan\u2026 A person staying in Colaba\u2019s second or third Pasta Lane or at Nepean Sea Road will regret that they did not own a place in Dharavi,\u201d Contractor gushed. <\/p>\n

The tender has pinned the development plan on three pillars acting as cornerstones – state-of-the-art infrastructure, social overhaul, and economic upgradation. <\/p>\n

The pitch is essentially that Dharavi will be transformed into a modern business hub, while existing micro enterprises and small industries will be supported and strengthened. Also, in the list of promises \u2013 new-age jobs with a special focus on the youth and women. <\/p>\n

There is talk of building training centers focused on upskilling, common facility centers for product-based and service-based entrepreneurship models, R&D centers, data centers and MSME parks. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe redevelopment plan as per the tender, envisions for rehabilitation of Dharavi\u2019s active economy in commercial and industrial structures,\u201d said a state housing department official. <\/p>\n

All of this, it is claimed, will be delivered after inputs from sectoral experts and civil society.<\/p>\n

The underlying postulate is that after redevelopment, Dharavi\u2019s economy will become more formal.<\/p>\n

One of the options to catalyse this outcome is to bring the supply chain of businesses under one roof and increase the ease of doing business; the logic being that this will attract new businesses to Dharavi. <\/p>\n

As per the plan, non-polluting industries and eligible tenements are to be rehabilitated in Dharavi, while polluting industries and non-eligible tenements will be rehabilitated outside the area. <\/p>\n

According to US-based Sasaki Associates\u2019 Romil Sheth, who is the lead designer for the project, the idea is to create \u201ca new heart for Mumbai with a significant new public space and cultural anchors, restore ecological systems in and around Dharavi, integrate the rehabilitation of Dharavi residents with their livelihoods, foster long term economic empowerment and create a pedestrian oriented and human scaled district.\u201d <\/p>\n

The plan has the stamp of approval from the elite in consulting. <\/p>\n

According to Rahul Sanghvi, MD and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), it is a unique opportunity to integrate Dharavi even more India\u2019s economic story. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an opportunity to rejuvenate the existing sectors by providing upskilling opportunities, promoting higher value-added products, and enhancing retail (heritage and tourism retail for pottery and leather). It also gives the opportunity to create more organised industry clusters with essential infrastructure, such as larger, ventilated, and pollution-compliant spaces, replacing the current cramped working conditions,\u201d Sanghvi added. <\/p>\n

Others second this view. \u201cEconomically, the redevelopment is projected to catalyse local businesses by providing modern commercial spaces, thereby fostering entrepreneurship and attracting more investment; enabling the currently informal businesses to be a part of India\u2019s growth story,\u201d said Subhash Patil, Partner and Leader- Cities, PwC. <\/p>\n

It is also being pitched as a project which would benefit the whole city. \u201cBeing remarkably well located in the heart of Mumbai, the redevelopment is expected to be a gamechanger with a new influx of real estate, which will help stabilise Mumbai\u2019s prohibitively expensive housing market,\u201d said a property consultant. <\/p>\n

According to him, proximity to Bandra-Kurla Complex and the airport offers substantial upside. <\/p>\n

The project is also expected to bring in the opportunity for significant job creation, both directly in the construction phase, and by skilling residents to participate in the larger services economy of post redevelopment. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe redevelopment also envisages setting up of MSME incubation and innovation centres along with skilling centres to provide opportunities for local youth to have start-ups of their own,\u201d said an urban development department official. <\/p>\n

There are other carrots too. All existing and new businesses will get a refund of state Goods and Services Tax (GST) for five years, which also should help them become more competitive. <\/p>\n

CHALLENGES APLENTY<\/h2>\n

All of which sounds great, on paper. <\/p>\n

Predictably, controversies refuse to divorce Dharavi.<\/p>\n

There has been resistance in the form of Dharavi Bachao Andolan. Among their key demands\u2014they want the state government\u2019s development body the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) or any other government agency to develop Dharavi rather than the Adanis. <\/p>\n

Echoing the sentiment, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray recently warned that the current tender will be scrapped if he comes to power after state elections later this year. His concerns, among others, are around concessions granted to the Adani group, which he claims are too broad. <\/p>\n

Another hot potato politically which shows no signs of cooling down is the debate over the size of the housing. <\/p>\n

As per the government\u2019s tender conditions, every eligible tenement holder will get a 350 square feet house for free within Dharavi and the rest will be allotted 300 square feet houses in Mumbai. <\/p>\n

The 350 square feet flats on offer, the Adani Group claims, are 17% bigger than the typical size offered in similar slum development projects in Mumbai. One of the Andolan\u2019s\u2014 and Thackeray\u2019s\u2014 demands is that these flats must be 500 square feet. <\/p>\n

Then there are issues around eligibility. Srinivas says that to establish eligibility for rehabilitation, a survey is being conducted across Dharavi. \u201cIt is our mission to ensure that not a single tenement should be left while conducting the survey. We will ensure that no Dharavikar is displaced outside Mumbai,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

The state government\u2019s general resolutions of 2018, 2022 and tender conditions spell out eligibility for in-situ rehabilitation. Holders of tenements in existence on or before January 1, 2000 will be eligible for in-situ rehabilitation Dharavi. Those existing between January 1, 2000 and January 1, 2011, will be allotted homes under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) outside Dharavi, anywhere in Mumbai, for just Rs 2.5 lakh, or via rental housing.<\/p>\n

The tenements that exist post January 1, 2011 till cutoff date, to be declared by the government, will get homes under the state government\u2019s proposed affordable rental home policy – with an option of hire-purchase.<\/p>\n

On their part, officials say that the current residents will have a say in shaping their future homes, and that no one in Dharavi will be shifted into a transit home as the project proposes a key-to-key solution. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe will complete the rehabilitation of the people of Dharavi to better-living conditions, with access to basic human amenities within a framework of seven years post receiving appropriate approvals,\u201d claims Srinivas.<\/p>\n

MORE CONTROVERSIES <\/h2>\n

A key planning tool for the project is Transferable Development Rights (TDR). <\/p>\n

It is a mechanism that allows property owners to transfer unused or extra development rights to another property.<\/p>\n

It compensates for limitations related to development in a particular area by giving them the option to transfer the development rights to another location. <\/p>\n

In Mumbai, TDR has been implemented for various slum rehabilitation projects. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad have also explored it. <\/p>\n

In the past, TDR has stoked controversy with some alleging that Adani Group has been favoured by making it mandatory for all realty projects in Mumbai to use minimum 40% of TDR generated from Dharavi project on priority.<\/p>\n

Over the last few months, the state government has moved to allocate several land parcels to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project for development of townships. These include a 45- acre land in the Dharavi Notified Area owned by the Indian Railways, 250 acres salt pans, 21-acre Kurla Dairy land and 15 acres of Mumbai Octroi Naka in Mulund. <\/p>\n

Some allege that such handing over of empty parcels to Adani Group is a land scam involving benefits to the developer of billions of dollars. <\/p>\n

\u201cThose who are opposing the project have not done their homework. No land is going to be handed over to SPV or Adani Group. It will be transferred by the state government to DRP\/SRA, which is the government of Maharashtra\u2019s own department. DRPPL, though, will pay for the land in lieu of development rights,\u201d says the state housing department official.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in the first week of August, a group of residents formed another faction, this one with the slogan Dharavi Banao Andolan, which supports the redevelopment plan. One of their demands is to initiate legal action against members of the other grouping.<\/p>\n

Other than the obvious political and societal challenges, there are other issues that must be addressed too. It has emerged that quite a few businesses in Dharavi are run by entrepreneurs who are not the owners of tenements. While owners would get in-situ on their entitled tenements, if a solution isn\u2019t worked out, such businesses and therefore jobs, will be impacted. <\/p>\n

DRPPL says that it is working towards enabling provisions for such entrepreneurs to get enhanced government support.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, a concern that cannot be assuaged as easily for many is this neighbourhood becoming yet another real estate play for the ultra\u2013rich, which further divorces urban spaces and better quality of life for most of the population. <\/p>\n

One thing is clear. No matter what is in the blueprint, it will be a cocktail of political compulsions and corporate one-upmanship that will dictate the future of Dharavi<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n


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Adnan Syed, 24, is in high spirits nowadays, thanks to his team\u2019s win at the first ever T10 Dharavi Premier League cricket tournament. Sitting in his 85 square feet house in Dharavi\u2019s labour camp, a beaming Syed says, \u201cIt is all over social media and press. We won `1 lakh prize money.\u201d The tournament, supported […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-42031747\/et-logo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[602],"tags":[1128,4362,58462,67693,67695,3026,96844,352,6913,96845],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118710"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118710"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":118712,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118710\/revisions\/118712"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}