Redeveloped Dharavi will produce many millionaires and no slumdogs: Gautam Adani

Adani expressed his commitment to creating a “state-of-the-art world-class city" that would reflect a resurgent and self-assured India.

A few days after the Maharashtra government gave its final approval to the appointment of Adani Properties for the redevelopment of Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum cluster located in Central Mumbai, Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, has shared his vision for its redevelopment and at the same time acknowledged that there were challenges ahead.

He also hoped that once done Hollywood film director Danny Boyle will discover that “the new Dharavi is producing millionaires without the slumdog prefix.”

“As we embark on this completely uncharted journey, I am aware of the colossal challenges ahead. Even in comparison with Singapore’s trailblazing project to resolve its housing crisis in the 1960s, Dharavi is a unique project in a league of its own,” he said in an open letter on July 19.

Adani expressed his commitment to creating a “state-of-the-art world-class city" that would reflect a resurgent and self-assured India “as the 21st century belongs to India". He personally vowed that eligible residents of Dharavi would be relocated to their new homes as part of the redevelopment project.

He said that it was his personal commitment that the only move the eligible residents of Dharavi will make will be to their new homes. “Not only will they see their homes being constructed in front of their eyes but they will also have a say in shaping it. What their homes do not have now, we will provide – gas, water, electricity, sanitation and drainage, healthcare and recreational facilities, and open spaces – and they will also have access to a world-class hospital and a school. Gone, like a faded memory, will be the pain of inadequacy. In its place will be a new Dharavi that hums with pride.”

What the project entails

He said that the project was unique for three reasons. First, it is one of the world’s largest urban resettlement and regeneration projects. Approximately a million people will be rehabilitated and resettled.

Secondly, rehabilitation entails the resettlement of not only the residential units but also of diverse establishments of various sizes and scales dealing with trading, shopping and other business transactions. “The entire ecosphere and business fabric of diverse and distinct trades thriving in Dharavi will be rehabilitated and rehoused,” he said.

Thirdly, the project will aim for comprehensive and holistic redevelopment as it caters to the housing and rehabilitation needs of both eligible and ineligible residents.

He said that while he had no fixed ideas or preconceived notions about redeveloping Dharavi, “what I do have are good intent and an iron will for a human-centric transformation with the people of Dharavi at its centre. It will be a bottom-up project reflecting their views and sentiments to the maximum extent possible. We will create an institutionalised mechanism to capture the sentiments of not only the people of Dharavi but also of the finest brains and each and every caring Mumbaikar, who are equal stakeholders in this journey of transforming Dharavi.”

A modern city hub

He also said that besides resettlement, livelihood is a big challenge. “I intend to transform Dharavi into a modern city hub by looking at ways and means to support and strengthen existing micro enterprises and small industries and by promoting new-age jobs with a special focus on youth and women.”

This will be achieved using a multi-pronged strategy with the help of sectoral experts and civil society. It could be a combination of training centres focused on upskilling, common facility centres for product-based as well as service-based entrepreneurship models, R&D centres, data centres, MSME help desks, etc. Another important element could be the creation of organised and systemic marketplaces in line with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), he added.

He said that the new Dharavi will reflect the quintessential character of Mumbai – the spirit, grit, unity in diversity, colour and determination – without losing the timeless essence of the old Dharavi.

First encounter with Dharavi

Recollecting his first encounter with Dharavi in the late 1970s, Adani said that his first tryst with Dharavi was in the late 1970s. “New to Mumbai, I was just another anonymous youngster lured to the big city by opportunity and my own optimism that I would sparkle in the diamond trade. Even back then, Dharavi was a melting pot of a diverse array of beliefs, cultures and languages from every part of India. I was mesmerised by the industrious chaos that I saw in Dharavi’s alleys, where just about every Indian language seemed to echo with equal urgency. But there was order in that chaos, seemingly provided by the soul of Dharavi. I could never define it but felt it very strongly.”