Dharavi redevelopment: Developers’ body seeks relaxations in buying TDRs from Adani Group project

Mumbai real estate news: The Adani Group, in 2022, emerged as the winner of the redevelopment project initiated by the Maharashtra government. Following this, a controversy erupted last month in November when the Congress party accused the BJP of relaxing norms for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) in Mumbai to benefit the Adani group. The Adani Group had termed the allegations as baseless and malicious.

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), the apex body of real estate developers in Mumbai real estate market, has sought several relaxations for buying transfer development rights (TDRs) from the Dharavi redevelopment project, which is being implemented by the Adani Group.

The developers’ association wants higher FSI in exchange for buying Transferable Development Rights (TDR) from the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL), in which the Adani group has a stake. The developers also want relaxation in premiums they will have to pay the government while acquiring TDRs.

The state government’s Urban Development Department through a notification on November 7 had made it mandatory for developers in Mumbai to buy the first 40 percent of their TDRs from the Dharavi Project before acquiring it from other sources.

CREDAI-MCHI was responding to the suggestions and objections sought by the state government to the changes in rules for buying TDR for Dharavi redevelopment project. The project is the largest rehabilitation and redevelopment project in the Mumbai real estate market.

What is a TDR?

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Mehul R Thakkar

Special Correspondent|Moneycontrol

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Simply put, TDR means a scenario where development rights in one place are used for development in some other place. The TDR is issued to the developer or land owner owing to different reasons including restrictions of height in a particular area or in the case of public reservation or infrastructure projects involving acquisition of private land.

The developer can sell that TDR to other developers who are looking for a higher floor space index (FSI) for their construction projects elsewhere. FSI is the ratio which determines the permissible construction and also is a parameter that decides the height and permissible construction in a particular building.

Also read: Dharavi can become a commercial hub like Bandra-Kurla Complex after redevelopment

What CREDAI-MCHI wants

In its submission, CREDAI-MCHI has said it will be feasible for prospective buyers (developers) to purchase TDR of Dharavi if its utilisation will result in more Floor Space Index (FSI) for their plot. The developers said that a similar increase in FSI was allowed for slum TDR when it was introduced in 1997.

The CREDAI-MCHI also said there is no rationale in capping the sale price of Dharavi TDR. It said that slum TDR is not capped and such capping of sale price was not part of the Dharavi project tender document.

Further, the CREDAI-MCHI has also requested for exemption from paying premiums for fungible FSI in sale and rehab buildings along with several other relaxations and exemptions.

A query has been sent to Adani Group's DRPPL. Their response will be updated.

Dharavi redevelopment

The Adani Group, in 2022, emerged as the winner of the redevelopment project initiated by the Maharashtra government. Following this, a controversy erupted last month in November when the Congress party accused the BJP of relaxing norms for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) in Mumbai to benefit the Adani group. The Adani Group had termed the allegations as baseless and malicious.

The company had said the allegations of 'tweaking' and amendments to suit selected bidders do not do justice to the regulatory transparency of the process. “Alleging favouritism of any kind is a mischievous ploy to muddy the waters and divert attention from our goal of transformational urban management,” DRPPL said on November 18.

Also read: Dharavi redevelopment: Allegations of wrongdoing are baseless and malicious: Adani Group

"We believe this is being done at the deliberate behest of certain vested interests who hope to derail or, at least delay, the long-cherished dreams of Dharavi’s people for a better future," the statement said.

There are around 1 million citizens residing in Dharavi and the construction of the Dharavi redevelopment project is 17 years with seven years for the rehabilitation of the slum dwellers.