The Dharavi redevelopment project will start in the next three to five months. So far 8 tenders from global investors have been received, said Dharavi Redevelopment Authority chief and Metropolitan Commissioner Mr SVR Srinivas here at the MMR @2034 summit.
He said as the Dharavi redevelopment project is a high-risk project, it has been declared by the state government as a vital public purpose project in which the government’s investment will be one fifth and rest from the private investor. ‘’If the government invests Rs 100 crore, nearly Rs 400 crore will come from the private investors. The project will be developed through special purpose vehicles,’’ he added.
Mr Srinivas said the population in Dharavi, which is spread over 600 acres, will be touching a million and it is a city within a city. There are commercial and industrial structures in Dharavi with a vibrant economy comprising leather, textiles and other business. They also export. Therefore, the state government has kept the Dharavi redevelopment as top most priority. It has been declared as a vital public purpose project like Mumbai Urban Transport Project,’’ he noted.
Mr Srinivas explained that the density is the highest in Dharavi as new slums are coming up there and the only alternative is to go vertical. ‘’It is close to the airport and therefore there are huge planning constraints. If it has to be implemented in an integrated manner it will need huge upfront investment. The rehab portion needs to be taken first and while doing so the question of eligibility is important. The government has not considered cluster development as optimisation of slums does not take place. There will be waste of space. Liquidity is another major issue along with high density. Therefore, we have come out with a new model wherein the state government will participate and it will provide a necessary backup for the investor/developer and also to the local tenants to address their issues,’’ he said.
Mr Srinivas said that the day foundation is laid for the Dharavi redevelopment will be the day Mumbai will start becoming slum-free.
