Adani Properties Pvt Ltd (APPL) has emerged as the highest bidder for the redevelopment of Motilal Nagar in Mumbai, offering more built-up area than its nearest rival, L&T. This will be the second mega redevelopment project of Adani Group in Mumbai, after the Dharavi slum redevelopment project. The total estimated redevelopment cost of Motilal Nagar is around Rs 36,000 crore, and the rehabilitation period is seven years from the project start/commencement date. The project will rehabilitate 3,372 residential units eligible under MHADA, 328 eligible commercial units and 1,600 eligible slum tenements.
The Bombay high court on Friday upheld the tender awarded to an Adani Group firm by the Maharashtra government for the Dharavi slum redevelopment project in Mumbai, ruling there was no 'arbitrariness, unreasonableness or perversity' in the decision.
The multi-crore Dharavi slum redevelopment project involves no land transfer to the Adani group but to the Maharashtra government's departments, and the Ahmedabad-based conglomerate, as a project developer, will build houses that will be handed over to the same departments for allotment to residents of Asia's biggest slums, sources said. Denying allegations of land grab made by MP Varsha Gaikwad, sources close to the project said land parcels are to be transferred only to Dharavi Redevelopment Project/Slum Rehabilitation Authority (DRP/SRA) of the state government's housing department.
Hardly 150,000 houses have been constructed over the past 14 years against the targeted 800,000.
According to the government, the additional chief secretary of the state housing department is designated to sign an agreement with the Union government for the land lease transfer.
After the Dharavi slum redevelopment project, billionaire Gautam Adani's group has emerged as the highest bidder for the Rs 36,000 crore redevelopment of Motilal Nagar in Mumbai, sources said. Motilal Nagar I, II & III is one of Mumbai's biggest housing redevelopment projects, covering 143 acres in western suburb of Goregaon (W).
15 to 25 per cent of property registrations in Mumbai come from redevelopment, with over 3,500 projects approved by May 2024.
Representatives of Citizen and Society Development Welfare, who have given the slogan of Dharavi Banao Andolan, met Srinivas and submitted a memorandum seeking expedition of the survey being conducted in Dharavi.
The Adani Group, which won the Dharavi Redevelopment Project from the state government last year, on Monday said it has onboarded three city planners, including Hafeez Contractor, to present a draft redevelopment plan for the largest slum cluster in Asia. In a statement, the group, which has promised to invest Rs 21,000 crore in the first phase, has roped in world famous architect Hafeez Contractor, design firm Sasaki, and consultancy firm Buro Happold as city and infrastructure planners for the project.
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
The ongoing survey for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project has surpassed the scope of the 2007-08 survey, with over 63,000 tenements already mapped. The survey, which includes ground floor and upper floor structures, aims to provide housing for all residents of Dharavi, including those in existing SRA buildings and on RLDA Land. The project, undertaken by Navbharat Mega Developers Private Limited (NMDPL), aims to construct nearly 1.5 lakh tenements to accommodate the growing population of Dharavi.
Shankar Prajapati, a 57-year-old potter in Dharavi, has given up hope of getting a bigger house for his family. He lives cheek by jowl in a hutment measuring 200 square (sq.) feet (ft) in the nondescript shanty town. "We have surrendered to our fate. We cannot wait forever for better accommodation. "Perhaps we are not meant to dream big," despairs Prajapati. Raju Korde, president, Dharavi Redevelopment Committee, and a local resident, agrees with Prajapati.
Social activist Medha Patkar's interference in a slum redevelopment scheme at Golibar slum in Mumbai's Khar (West) suburb on Monday evoked protests from the nearly 4500 families residing in 45 cooperative housing societies scheduled for redevelopment in the area.
Many people's groups have taken up the cause of Mumbai's slum dwellers, especially since the city municipal authorities set up the Slum Rehabilitation Authority.
'Dharavi will be completely slum free by 2040'
Despite Dharavi being located in the Mumbai North Central constituency and Mahalaxmi Racecourse in South Mumbai, the issues have caught the attention of all parties and their candidates.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the state assembly polls are expected to be held in the second week of November and seat-sharing among the ruling allies would be finalised in the next 8 to 10 days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party as an 'aapda' (disaster) for Delhi, saying this 'aapda' had taken the national capital in its grip in the past 10 years.
While the responses of the candidates were predictable, depending on which side they belonged to, an interesting point slipped through when Rahul Shewale cited the Dharavi Redevelopment Project as a scheme that would add to Mumbai's importance. No big infrastructural project in Mumbai, he said, could be successful without the Centre's nod.
Dharavi resident advocate Sandip Katake alleged the project would be the world's biggest land scam.
Hiranandani, K Raheja Builders, Gamon Infrastructure and Kalpataru are reported to have shown interest in the Rs 9,300-crore project, launched by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) of the Maharashtra government.
'Gautam Adani will not be able to step inside Dharavi.' 'We will ensure Adani will not get what he wants.' 'Adani has no reason to do politics with people of Dharavi but he is still doing it.'
Elections are not won or lost by expounding on such macro-economic matters. For the aam admi, what matters in manifestos are promises that will improve their quality of life, notes Vinayak Chatterjee.
'Kasab was never given mutton biryani.' 'What I had said was Kasab had asked for mutton biryani to be served in jail.'
Adani, which had earlier bid only for the wholesale book, now want all of DHFL's assets and has pipped both Oaktree and Piramal by bidding higher than each of them.
'When honest, wealthy people come forward to serve India, people should feel proud and welcome them.'
Quoting the FIR registered on the basis of a complaint, the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai said accused Nailesh Mehta of Dev Developers in Andheri pretended himself as the partner of Zoomi Construction Company by preparing fake documents and acquired the latter's rightful TDR from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority.
Analysts say that PMC Bank case is only going to make matters worse for HDIL and the Wadhawans.
While political experts claim that the Modi Magic is missing in the 2024 general election, the common people in the street -- at least those in the crowd on Thursday -- vow that they will vote for Modi and the candidate who contests the election doesn't matter much.
Urban planners and real estate experts say bad town planning in Mumbai and rising deaths during the ongoing pandemic are a "sad reality". Dev Chatterjee and Raghavendra Kamath report.
In an interview with Rediff.com, bestselling author Rashmi Bansal talks about her new book, Poor Little Rich Slum and just why Dharavi is such an important part of Mumbai.
With the Maharashtra government doling out pieces of the lush green Aarey forest to various utilities, the tribals living in it for generations are feeling increasingly insecure. Hepzi Anthony reports.
'Mumbai's corroding infrastructure, Delhi's pollution, Bangalore's rain water drainage, Kolkata's electricity -- these are all real and serious life threatening situations.'
The Slum Rehabilitation Authority of Maharashtra has once again extended the last date for submission of expression of interest for the Rs 10,000-crore (Rs 100 billion) Dharavi Redevelopment Project to August 30.
The submission of EOI forms started on July 1 and was supposed to end on July 31.
Since many of Modi's urban policies were initiated in Ahmedabad, the city may act as a template to examine what can be expected in a country that is witnessing the biggest migration from rural to urban areas in the world
Categorising the original settlements of gaothans and koliwadas as slums, the authorities in Mumbai are keen to develop them into commercial complexes. The residents are unwilling to cede their rights. Ranjita Ganesan reports
Implementation of the reforms through a special purpose vehicle is a way to seek greater accountability.