Dharavi Redevelopment Committee (DRC) upset with CM Thackeray on re-tendering issue!

The resident committee has written a letter to Thackeray and have asked to not to re-invite bids for their long pending dream of redevelopment. Approximately 60, 000 families in Asia’s biggest slum Dharavi are waiting for more than 16-years for a better housing scheme assured by the government.

Mumbai: The residents of Asia’s largest slum Dharavi have decided to fight back and oppose new tendering by the Maharashtra government to be implemented in a slum-redevelopment project.

Dharavi Redevelopment Committee (DRC) a federation of 52 associations of residents residing in Dharavi has come in open opposed the state government led by CM Thackeray on the re-invite of bids on redevelopment and has demanded to cancel the current tender or new tendering bids.

In the letter of July 11, to the CM Thackeray the DRC President Rajendra Korde has stated that it has been more than 16-years the project is in limbo. The outcome is evident in Dharavi that now three-four storeyed floors on hutments have grown like mushrooms. The committee claimed that the government is planning to cancel the tender of Dharavi Redevelopment Project, it has already been completed on the basis of the opinion of the advocate general raising the issue of railways land that will be added to the entire development plan.

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Korde said, “The government is re-sectoring and processing new tender for Dharavi Redevelopment Project. About 6000 families in Dharavi slum are in limbo for more than 16-years because of the government process. If they find that the railway land is an obstacle in redevelopment of Asia’s largest slum they can exclude the railway land from the entire project.”

In the recent past, amid pandemic crisis and surge in covid-19 patients from this slum, the state Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad had urged the CM Thackeray to initiate the redevelopment of Dharavi as the slum areas need an organized health infrastructure.

“The project has stalled from February 4, 2004 and due to which the population and illegal construction has grown largely here. Due to which, the need of good infrastructure lacks completely and it came in light amid a pandemic crisis of lockdown. There are limited infrastructures like toilets, water supply and health-clinics for residents of Dharavi. We want the government to work on the same tender as the new process will put our future in dark again,” added Korde.

The Housing Minister Awhad remained unavailable for the comment despite phone calls and messages to him.

The DRC President Korde informed that in the year 2018 the tender was awarded to the Seclink Technology.

The BJP led government had invited global tendering for Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP)  and two companies had neared the bid – Seclink Technology and Adani Infra. 

It was Advocate General (AG) Ashutosh Kumbhkoni who had advised the government to take Indian railways land of about 90 acres for Dharavi Redevelopment Project. Following AG Kumbhkoni’s recommendation, the former CM Devendra Fadnavis led government (who had housing ministry also as a portfolio) decided to buy 45 acres of land of Indian Railways. 

Meanwhile for the same redevelopment issue, the previous BJP government of Maharashtra had bought land of 45 acres from Indian Railways (IR).

The 45 acres railway’s land costs about Rs 800 crore to the government. For which the state governments Housing body – MHADA had paid the first installment of Rs.200 crore to the railways.