The Adani Group, which has won the bid to redevelop Dharavi, one of the largest slum clusters in the world, is facing allegations of hiring goons to force the residents to vacate their homes.
The Mumbai Congress chief and MLA from Dharavi, Varsha Gaikwad, claimed that the group has hired former police officers and encounter specialists to intimidate the residents, who are reluctant to give up their land and livelihoods.
Gaikwad made this shocking claim on the floor of the assembly on Monday, while raising a calling attention motion on the issue. She said that some of the residents were served eviction notices in the middle of the night through unauthorized sources and were asked to clear out within four days. She did not name anyone, but said that three of the officers had earlier served in Dharavi.
She said that the residents were living in fear and had no alternative accommodation till the completion of the project. She said that this was nothing but an attempt to suppress the residents’ voice with the help of muscle power. She demanded that the deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis should take steps against this practice and that the speaker Rahul Narwekar should give directives to the government in this regard.
She also said that the Congress will protest if the residents are not rehabilitated before the project kicks off1. She said that the Adani Group has no experience or expertise in slum rehabilitation, and that it has been given undue favours by the Maharashtra government, which awarded the project to the group in November 20232.
The Dharavi Redevelopment Project is a Rs 20,000 crore project, which aims to transform the 259-hectare slum area into a modern township, with residential, commercial, and industrial spaces. The project has been in the pipeline for over two decades, but has faced several hurdles and delays.
The Adani Group emerged as the sole bidder for the project, with a bid of Rs 5,069 crore, which was accepted by the government. The group will have to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with the government, and invest 20% of the bid amount before signing the development agreement. The group will also have to submit an integrated master plan, and rehabilitate the existing 6.5 lakh slum dwellers in seven years.
The project has been opposed by the Shiv Sena, which is the ruling partner of the government, and has accused the government of giving special concessions to the Adani Group. The Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has said that the project will destroy the culture and identity of Dharavi, and that the residents should be given ownership rights over their land.
The project has also faced criticism from various activists and experts, who have raised concerns over the environmental, social, and economic impacts of the project. They have said that the project will displace the informal economy and the community networks of Dharavi, and that it will create a huge ecological footprint and a waste management crisis.
