After SPV Formation, Maharashtra Government Invites Global Tenders For Dharavi Slum Redevelopment Project

In yet another impetus to Dharavi Slum redevelopment project, Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government has invited global tenders to redevelop Dharavi, one of the largest slums in Asia, into an integrated township under a Rs 22,000 crore project, The Hindu Business Line has reported.

Maharashtra’s Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) put out advertisements in newspapers, stating that the last date for submitting the bids for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) is 28 December 2018.

Last month, Swarajya had reported that the Maharashtra cabinet had approved setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) from slum redevelopment. The SPV will have 80 per cent stake of the developer and the remaining under government ownership. The government has decided to also invite global tenders for the purpose.

Presently, Dharavi houses 59,160 residential slums with ground-plus-two or three-floor structures spread over 104 hectares of land. Apart from these, there are 12,976  industrial or commercial establishments.

Unlike the phased approach envisaged earlier, under the new plan, the whole area will be considered for redevelopment. The expected cost of rehabilitation is Rs 22,000 crore and over one lakh structures will be constructed in seven years. Railways has also agreed to give up 90 acres of its land in Matunga and Dadar for the project.

Under the new plan, 70,000 residential and 30,000 commercial or industrial establishments will be constructed in Dharavi over the next seven years. The tenants, who have existing structures of 300 square feet, will get flats with 350 square feet carpet area, while those in slums with 350 square feet but less than 500 square feet, will get flats of 400 sq. feet carpet area after redevelopment; likewise, those living in slums in a 500 square feet area, will get flats of equivalent area; and the latter will also be offered an additional 35 per cent fungible Floor Space Index (FSI).

The previous efforts for getting the developers for the project was twice unsuccessful. In 2012, the then Congress-NCP government had given the responsibility to redevelop Sector 5 of the slum cluster to the Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA). However, there was not much progress since then.