Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday told the state assembly that he and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will meet on August 30 with the union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for requesting speedy handing over of the land by the railways to the state government to kick start the Dharavi redevelopment project.
‘’Dharavi Redevelopment Project is a very important project. The government had prepared its Development Plan (DPR) in 2016. However, to complete this project, it is necessary to get the railway land. The state government had already paid Rs 800 crore to the railway ministry so that it hands over the land. Discussions are going on with the Center on some issues with regard o definitive agreement and profit sharing. We will take it up with the union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on August 30 and sort those issues,’’ said Fadnavis.
Fadnavis said thereafter the Dharavi redevelopment project will be implemented on the fast track by inviting fresh tenders. ‘’In next three months the Dharavi redevelopment project, which will be the largest in Asia, will be kicked off,’’ he added.
The proposed Dharavi redevelopment project was earlier pegged at around Rs 28,000 crore. Situated in the heart of Mumbai, Dharavi is one of the biggest slums in Asia and its redevelopment is pending for the last 16 years. In 2020, former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) government scrapped the previous tender following the refusal of Railways to hand over the land to carry out the project.
Dubai-based Seclink Technologies Corporation had emerged as the highest bidder, quoting a price of Rs 7,500 crore, as against Adani Group, the second bidder, which quoted Rs 4,529 crore for the Dharavi redevelopment project.
In fact, Sealink had moved the International Court of Arbitration in Geneva, along with the Bombay High Court, against the Maharashtra government's decision to scrap the Dharavi redevelopment tendering process.
Before the MVA government came into power, the Devendra Fadnavis government had pushed for the redevelopment of Dharavi. It had merged all 12 sub-clusters into one and had offered a floor space index of four to developers interested to take up this project.
Meanwhile, Fadnavis also announced that the rent paid for the buildings in the MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) redevelopment projects is low and the government has decided to increase it to Rs 25,000.
