A week after Maharashtra government's cabinet approved a proposal to invite fresh tenders for redevelopment of Asia's one of the largest slum cluster - Dharavi, the Maharashtra Housing Department has issued a government resolution (GR) announcing a floor space index (FSI) of 4 for the redevelopment along with several concessions in form of premium paid by the developer, inspection charges, goods and service tax etc.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the housing minister, told reporters on September 28 that fresh tenders for the redevelopment of Dharavi are expected to be floated in a week's time.
Also read: Maharashtra to invite fresh bids, offer more concessions for Dharavi redevelopment project
The GR issued by the Maharashtra Housing Department stated, "Bidding Company/Lead Member of the Consortium shall have a minimum consolidated net worth of Rs 20,000 crore as per the latest balance sheet and such balance sheet shall not be earlier than March 31, 2022."
The GR added the Bidding Company/ Technical Consortium Member shall have total experience in the development of real estate projects of not less than 6 million sq. ft. in the last 7 years and for which Occupation Certificate or equivalent should have been received."
The state government has decided to include land acquired from the railways in the project and has offered additional concessions to prospective developers.
According to the GR, a separate special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed for the redevelopment of the Dharavi. The SPV will be exempted from payment of betterment charges, inspection charges and layout deposit amount.
In addition, the state urban development department will also give exemptions in certain provisions of Development Control Regulations, and permission to invest/use TDR without Indexation. It will also propose an exemption to relax provisions of open leases in front of buildings followed by relief in GST.
The Maharashtra government has also decided that it will refund the state GST paid by SPV for 15 years and also refund the State GST paid by the industrial and commercial company after obtaining a certificate of occupancy.
The overall project is expected to be of around Rs 28,000 crore and the state government expects that the project will be completed in phases in a period of seven years. Two bidders had earlier shown interest in the project.
However, the bids were scrapped due to technical reasons. In October 2020, the then Maharashtra government scrapped the earlier tender for the redevelopment project, which has been in the making for over two decades.
Dharavi, spread over 600 acres, is known to be a hub for several small-scale, unorganised industries that manufacture medicines, leather, footwear, and clothes. With an estimated population of 1 million, Dharavi is one of the most densely populated slums in the world and was badly hit due to the pandemic.
It is located in Central Mumbai in close proximity to the commercial hub of the Mumbai Bandra Kurla Complex and south Mumbai.
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