The Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL), in which the Adani group has a stake along with the Maharashtra government, will start a survey next month to determine the eligibility of slumdwellers eligible for rehabilitation. The slum cluster is expected to have a population of 1 million.
Two decades on from the last one, this fresh survey will help in determining the total population of Dharavi and number of slumdwellers eligible to receive free houses in the rehab component of the project. The survey is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, according to officials.
What will the survey look at?
The company hired by DRPPL will start collecting data and biometrics of slumdwellers from February. There are two components to the Dharavi redevelopment project. One is the rehabilitation component, and the second is free sale wherein the developer will be given authority to sell apartments in the free market.
Eligibility criteria for slumdwellers
According to the criteria set down by the Maharashtra government, slumdwellers settled before the year 2000 will qualify for free housing under the rehab component. The rest will be given the option of having free housing with the rider that they will pay for the construction cost of the house.
SVR Srinivas, head of the Dharavi redevelopment project, last week told reporters that the teams will visit each and every house and collect biometric data, and take around nine months to complete the survey.
Also read: Dharavi redevelopment: Developers’ body seeks relaxations in buying TDRs from Adani Group project
Master plan will depend on eligibility numbers
According to experts, the making of the master plan will also depend on the exact number of slumdwellers eligible for rehabilitation.
“The master plan will determine how much space will be used in Dharavi for the rehab component, how much will be for sale, how much will be for open space, commercial and retail space etc. For the master plan to be fool-proof, the survey of eligible slumdwellers will be very crucial,” said Vikas Shah, a Mumbai based architect.
Meanwhile, the Adani Group had on January 1 announced that it was partnering with renowned architect Hafeez Contractor for its ambitious Dharavi project, which involves redevelopment and rehabilitation of nearly 1 million residents in one of Asia’s largest slum clusters.
Contractor, a Padma Bhushan recipient, is a big name in the Indian real estate sector, and projects designed by him see huge demand. He has also designed social housing projects along with US design firm Sasaki, consultancy firm Buro Happold from the UK, and experts from Singapore. Contractor has designed skyscrapers in several cities in India, including Mumbai, and overseas, including in the UAE and US.
Also read: Dharavi redevelopment: Allegations of wrongdoing are baseless and malicious: Adani Group
The Dharavi project
In November 2022, Adani Group was declared the winner of the Dharavi redevelopment project. The Group had won the bid by promising an initial investment of Rs 5,069 crore for the over Rs 20,000-crore project.
Dharavi came into the spotlight as one of the locations where the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire was shot. Overall, the Dharavi revamp will have a timeline of 17 years, of which seven years will be for the construction of homes under the rehab component.
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