Dharavi revamp: Can Gautam Adani transform Asia's largest slum?

India Today

06-08-2025

(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated August 4, 2025)A walk through Latur Galli in Mumbai's Dharavi is not for the faint-hearted. The passage to Basavraj Swami's 70 square feet home involves ducking iron beams, sidestepping covered drains disguised as walkways and navigating alleys barely wide enough for a single person. Swami, 58, lives here with eight family members, packed like pieces of a puzzle into a room with no ventilation. At night, he sleeps under the bed, while his daughter, Swanandi, nods off on top of it. His elderly mother stretches across a mat on the floor. Other family members scale narrow metal ladders to reach tiny lofts, while the main door remains tightly shut mainly to keep out the rats.advertisementThis is not a story of urban poverty of the monetary sort. It's a daily negotiation with indignity. One in which 15 families share a single tap, and 250 people have to make do with one toilet. Dharavi, said to be Asia's largest slum, is home to around 1.2 million people, a tenth of Mumbai's estimated 13 million population. It's so densely packed that over 400,000 people occupy a sq. km area in the slum, compared to Mumbai's average of 28,000 (this translates to a 5x5 ft space per person in Dharavi, while in the rest of Mumbai they get 19x19 sq. ft per person, nearly 15 times more). Most Dharavikars, like the Swamis, are migrants, and have been waiting for decades to see a change.
That change may finally be here. Or so promises Gautam Adani, India's most watched tycoon, who has placed a staggering Rs 2.5 lakh crore bet on transforming this chaotic human settlement into a model of modern urban living. Through a special purpose vehicle called Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt. Ltd (NMDPL)—80 per cent of which is controlled by Adani Properties and 20 per cent by the Maharashtra government—the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) will be one of the world's most ambitious urban renewal efforts. More than a business project, it's a test of whether private capital can do what decades of public policy could not: reimagine, rehabilitate and rebuild an urban space that is more symbolically loaded than any other in India. Especially since the redevelopment involves a bid process stretching back two decades, the longest for any brownfield project. In May, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis approved the master plan and set the process rolling. 'Eligible slum-dwellers and businesses will be rehabilitated in Dharavi itself,' the CM assured Dharavikars.
The stakes could not be higher. Dharavi's 621 acres constitute some of the most politically and emotionally charged land in Mumbai, though only 269.3 acres or 43.4 per cent will be available for redevelopment. Of this, 51.7 million sq. ft of housing, commercial and industrial spaces will be built for rehab and renewal on 116.6 acres. Another 118.5 acres of developable land is likely to see real estate activity totalling 69.4 million sq. ft for open market sale. The rehab component, including affordable housing, renewal, infrastructure and amenities, is to be completed by January 15, 2032. The market sale component is looking at a timeline of 25 years, which may get extended depending on the demand and supply. The Adanis will pump in Rs 95,790 crore into the rehabilitation housing component in Dharavi and the other proposed Navbharat townships outside it. Estimated cost of the project, including the free sale component: over Rs 2.5 lakh crore.As part of the rehabilitation component, the project proposes building 125,000 residential, industrial and commercial units. Of these, 105,000 will be housing units, 58,532 of them 350 sq. ft in size, built in situ for those settled on ground floors on or before January 1, 2000. Another set of units of 300 sq. ft will be built outside Dharavi and given at a discounted rate of Rs 2.5 lakh to those settled on the ground floor between January 1, 2000, and January 1, 2011. A third category of housing, also 300 sq. ft in size, will be available on hire-purchase basis to those settled on the upper floors or those who came to live in Dharavi between January 1, 2011, and November 15, 2022, again in the new townships. The flats on hire-purchase can be bought at government-approved rates after 12 years. As of now, the last two sets will be 46,468 in number, although final figures will be available only after the survey of structures is completed in Dharavi.advertisementThe plan also includes building 20,000 commercial/industrial units in situ which will be given to those who have the bona fides to prove that they existed in Dharavi on or before November 15, 2022. Of these, those businesses set up on the ground floor before January 1, 2000, will be eligible for 225 sq. ft units for free, with the option to buy extra space at government rates. The remaining will get units on a hire-purchase basis.advertisement
CRAMPED LIVES: People going about their morning routines in Indiranagar-3 in Dharavi. (Photograph by Bandeep Singh)
A CITY WITHIN A CITYadvertisementDharavi has always been a magnet for economic migrants from across the country, who reclaimed the swamplands to build huts and small businesses, marking the foundations of Mumbai's oldest slum. Informal businesses flourished even during the stormy 1970s and '80s, when the area was the stomping ground of criminals like the late underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar. But since the '90s, Dharavi has grown into an informal economic hub, with an estimated annual turnover of $1 billion (Rs 8,623 crore). Its manufacturing, retail and commercial units and single-room factories, which span a massive 627,292 sq. m. in built-up area, make everything from garments, wigs, pots, diyas to leather goods. Kiran Dighavkar, deputy municipal commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), says Dharavi is driven by the instinct of commerce. 'Dharavi is the Malabar Hill of slums. There is only one religion and caste in Dharavi—money,' says the bureaucrat.S.V.R. Srinivas, CEO of DRP, which is in charge of the redevelopment, says the makeover is a sui generis case—virtually without precedent. 'Dharavi is different in every sense, compared to conventional Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) projects,' says the IAS officer. 'We are building a city within a city, not just a few buildings...this is the brownest of the brownfield projects, the world's largest urban renewal project.' The redevelopment is envisaged as a phased 'key-to-key venture', which minimises the need to shift residents into transit accommodation, and instead helps them move directly into permanent homes.advertisementFor residents like Swami, the offer is alluring: a free home with running water and two toilets will be a world apart from his current under-the-bed existence. For Adani, the potential upside is massive. The Dharavi revamp project could see prime real estate being unlocked in the heart of Mumbai, a Rs 2.5 lakh crore transformation that could reshape the city's skyline and cement his image as a national infrastructure builder par excellence. Group chairman Gautam Adani emphasises that it is not all about money. 'Our Dharavi Social Mission,' he says, 'will uplift the youth through skilling, healthcare and employment programmes. Over 1 million people will move from narrow lanes to a township that features spacious layouts, dual toilets, schools, hospitals, transit hubs and parks.'At the same time, the risks are equally monumental for Adani. The businessman is staking his reputation on one of the most complex urban transformation projects in the world. Dharavi is not a single slum, but a dense, pulsating ecosystem of informal housing, micro industries, migrant communities and deep-rooted social networks built over decades. Any hint of insensitivity or bulldozing without consensus could trigger a backlash far beyond Dharavi. Realty consultant Prashant Thakur, regional director and head-research and advisory, Anarock Property Consultants Pvt. Ltd, says the massive logistical and social tasks involved in handling rehabilitation, legal and political hurdles, upgrading basic infrastructure like sewerage, roads and water supply into a formal urban grid, and balancing livelihood preservation with modern urban norms posed, as he put it mildly, 'delicate challenges'. Indeed, they could derail timelines and inflate costs.Adani executives are tight-lipped regarding details of the planned projects for open market sale, saying their priority is to ensure the rehabilitation of Dharavi slum-dwellers by 2032. While 100 million sq. ft will be utilised for rehabilitation, in Dharavi as well as other sites earmarked for affordable/rental housing across Mumbai, it will also open up 140 million sq. ft of FSI (floor space index) and TDR (transferable development rights, which allows 'development potential' to be reassigned from one property to another) for free/ open market sale.Experts say that land rates in Dharavi, which now average around Rs 12,000 per sq. ft and can go up to Rs 75,000/sq. ft for prime property, will appreciate manifold over the next two decades. Property prices next-door, in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), one of the most expensive business districts in India, are in the Rs 60,000-86,000 per sq. ft band. A real estate expert, who did not wish to be identified, says that construction project returns are an average of 15-30 per cent on equity, depending on factors like time taken for development, FSI, execution cost and location. If the rehab and sale components are delayed due to social/ political factors, the returns could be lower, he adds. Another consultant estimates that selling 140 million sq. ft in the open market could fetch Adani Rs 5.6 lakh crore in revenues and at least Rs 84,000 crore in profits, taking a conservative profit margin of 15 per cent.
PATCHWORK: A garment unit in Sant Kakkaya Marg. (Photograph by Bandeep Singh)
THE RED FLAGSBut the project is not without controversy, starting with how the Adanis got the Dharavi contract in the first place. Back in February 2019, the UAE-based Seclink Technologies Corporation, with a Rs 7,200 crore offer, had outbid the Adanis who had quoted Rs 4,539 crore. The Maharashtra government then decided a 45-acre plot belonging to the Railways would be used for the rehabilitation of the slum-dwellers and included it in the project. Since the scope of the project had changed, the government called for fresh bids. By then, three years had passed. In October 2022, Adani Properties made the cut with a Rs 5,069 crore financial bid. The Bombay High Court dismissed Seclink's plea challenging the state government decision. The case is now being heard in the Supreme Court, which has, however, refused to stay the project.Meanwhile, the criteria for rehabilitation outside Dharavi are also catching flak. The NMDPL has been allocated 541.2 acres across Mumbai to build affordable rental housing units and for open market sale. Anil Desai, the local South Central Mumbai MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, notes no builder has got 'such largesse' from the state. The land parcels are in Kurla Dairy (21 acres), Jamasp salt pans (58.5 acres), Deonar dumping ground (124.3 acres), Aksa and Malvani (124.3 acres), Arthur salt works (120.5 acres) and Jenkins salt works (76.9 acres).The allegations of a 'land grab' stem from the fact that, in a city starved of affordable real estate, land is being handed out to the NMDPL at 25 per cent of the ready reckoner rates. For instance, the 21 acres of the now-defunct Kurla Dairy will cost the Adanis just around Rs 58 crore. This is besides the range of sops to the SPV, like a Rs 45 crore stamp duty waiver for the sub-lease agreement between the DRP and Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) for 30 years. The BMC has also launched a Rs 2,368 crore project to clear 18.5 million tonnes of legacy waste from the Deonar dumping ground using biomining technology to reclaim the land. The civic body will retain just 136 of the total 260 acres here, with the rest going to the Dharavi rehab project.However, sources stress that the land ownership will be vested with the DRP (i.e. the state government); no land parcel allotted for the Dharavi redevelopment project will be signed over to Adani directly. Meanwhile, in another move that has raised eyebrows, the Maharashtra government has also mandated that Mumbai developers who wish to use TDR must purchase at least 40 per cent of it from the Dharavi project.Construction has already begun on the 45-acre railway plot (the very one that landed the project in the Adani Group's lap). In Dharavi, too, a multi-stage survey with drones, physical lane recces, alpha-numeric numbering of houses, a high-resolution lane LIDAR (a laser-based remote sensing method to measure distances and create 3D models) and door-to-door audit of documents is under way, with the data uploaded onto an encrypted digital platform. 'This is a legacy project,' says an NMDPL spokesperson. 'We are going beyond contractual obligations and focusing on housing, infrastructure and social impact. Against the mandated eight per cent open space, the new Dharavi will offer double: 16 per cent. This will become a place people choose to live in.' There will also be some 'decongestion'. After the plan is implemented, Dharavi's population is expected to fall to 485,713, less than half of what it is currently (the other half will be moved out to the new townships).Robust connectivity could be Dharavi's ace in the hole. Line 11 of the Mumbai Metro will be extended to the heart of Dharavi to create a multi-modal transit hub, the city's first such facility. Rail access to Mahim, Bandra, GTB Nagar, Kings Circle and Matunga road stations, proximity to the arterial western and eastern express highways, metro links and the high-speed rail a.k.a. bullet train being developed for the next-door BKC business district could make it a real estate hotspot. NMDPL sources say the new Dharavi is being envisioned as a future-ready city. International architects and planners are being roped in. Signature features will include the 'Mithi Drive' along the Mithi River (akin to Mumbai's Marine Drive), an expansive central park and a 'green spine' across the length of Dharavi that will also help flood mitigation.
THE CHALLENGESVisions of a future-ready city notwithstanding, many Dharavikars face another piquant situation—the displaced population may find themselves unwanted in areas earmarked for their rehabilitation. Residents in Kurla and Malvani are already opposing the construction of rental housing schemes in their areas, with the reasons ranging from pressure on already overloaded infrastructure to a change in demography once the resettlement is complete (a significant number of those who will be shifted may be Muslims). Protesting locals have halted surveys in Aksa and Malvani.Meanwhile, environmentalists say 'creating a cement jungle' in the salt pan lands—Jamasp, Jenkins and Arthur—would have massive implications for Mumbai's ecology. D. Stalin of the NGO Vanashakti says the salt pans act as giant sponges during the rains, soaking up excess water. If these areas are built up, it would increase the likelihood of floods in the city. However, Srinivas allays the concerns, saying the SPV and the government will ensure that construction does not begin till all environmental and other clearances are secured.Politics, too, is playing a part. 'We all want development,' says Aaditya Thackeray, former minister and Sena (UBT) leader. 'But should it be the development of Dharavi or that of Adani?' he asked at a recent public meeting. 'If the people of Dharavi are not getting homes here, what and who is this redevelopment for?' Talking to india today, the Sena (UBT) leader alleged that the BMC was being denied a premium of Rs 7,500 crore for its land as well as the TDR incentives. The state should have adopted a contractor-based model to redevelop Dharavi, like it had done with the Bombay Development Department (BDD) chawls, he says. Incidentally, residents of the BDD redevelopment in Worli and elsewhere are getting 500 sq. ft flats, and the Sena (UBT) has demanded that Dharavikars get the same.Dharavi has a strong Dalit and Muslim presence, and has been a Congress stronghold since 1980, barring a small blip around 1995-99. Varsha Gaikwad, the party's MP from Mumbai North Central and a former Dharavi MLA, levels a more serious charge. She fears that since Dharavi is a traditional Congress constituency, there is a chance that Muslims would be resettled outside it to change the demography. 'The businesses that are the identity of Dharavi (such as leather and recycling), could (also) be forced out,' she alleges. Rajesh Khandare, a Shinde Sena leader, pooh-poohs such allegations. 'Around 95 per cent of Dharavi residents stay in 50-100 sq. ft houses. They are not opposed to the project, it is only the large godown owners who are against it,' he says. However, he concedes that the lack of transparency about the plans has complicated matters.Opposition to the redevelopment is the highest in the Sanaullah compound area, said to be India's largest recycling hub. S. Selvan, a member of the Dharavi Businessmen Welfare Association, says the area has 10,000 godowns. He says the 'circular economy' of the recycling industry, including the rag pickers, kabadi shops and others, would be hit badly if these units were forced to shift. 'We pay GST to the government, and even their revenues will be hit if Dharavi's businesses are displaced,' warns Selvan. Stakeholders of the Rs 200 crore leather industry are also feeling pressured. They say the anti-meat vigilantism, the flood of artificial leather and cheaper Chinese imports have already put the sector on the back foot. Any displacement from Dharavi may sound the death knell for their businesses, he warns.Srinivas admits that most businesses being in the informal sector is a big hurdle, for it means a 'low-level investment trap as most of the people lack entitlements'. Once the new Dharavi comes up, they will be part of the formal sector, says the officer. Commercial units in the redeveloped Dharavi will get state GST refunds for the first five years, he points out. Critics say that while conventional SRA projects need consent from 51 per cent of residents to appoint a developer, this clause was done away with in Dharavi. As justification, Srinivas says that 'since the developer has been appointed by the government, consent is there'. CM Fadnavis has also given assurances that all eligible slum-dwellers and industries and commercial establishments will be rehabilitated inside Dharavi. He claims that so far door-to-door surveys have been completed for around 90 per cent of the structures and that the people have also supported it.
FEARS FOR THE FUTUREThe biggest fear among Dharavikars is that the project is being treated as a real estate scheme rather than a resettlement project. Kamalanagar businessman and local Karunanidhi Kannan claims the redevelopment is a 'land grab in disguise' and charges that some houses have been numbered by survey teams without consent from residents. He fears that much of Dharavi's population, which derived direct or indirect employment from local units, is likely to be deemed 'ineligible' and pushed out of the area, destroying their livelihoods and the vibrant local micro-economy. 'Some people will get houses, but what about jobs? Should they sit outside the houses and beg?' Kannan asks. But others call for a change. 'See the conditions we live in, what do you think we need?' asks Swanandi Swami of Latur Galli. Her neighbour, Mahananda Sawale, 63, who stays with her family of nine in a 10x10 ft room, is more blunt. She described her life as 'living in the gutters' and wishes for the coming generations to do better.The Dharavi project will clearly bring as much disruption as goodwill. Gautam Chatterjee, a retired IAS officer and former head of the DRP and Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority, warns that 'while we call it a rehabilitation project, it should not turn out to be a displacement project'. For now, Swami holds on to hope: of a flat, a better life and a future where he no longer has to sleep under the bed. For Adani, the question is whether one of the richest men in Asia can truly reimagine the poorest square miles in Mumbai. And whether his colossal wager will be remembered as a transformation—or a miscalculation.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch