3 days ago
Scrap approval for Dharavi redevpt masterplan: Congress MP to CM
Mumbai: Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad met chief minister
Devendra Fadnavis
on Monday and submitted a letter demanding that the govt's approval given last week for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project's (DRP) masterplan be scrapped.
She also challenged "Fadnavis and his Adani Sarkar" to hold a public hearing on the masterplan.
Posting TOI's ground reports on local resistance to the ongoing eligibility survey in Dharavi on X, she asked how the masterplan was cleared without public consultations or inviting suggestions and objections as mandated under MRTP Act for draft development plans. The project is among the largest urban transformation schemes in the world and is being implemented by Navbharat Mega Developers Private Ltd. It is an SPV between the state govt and
Adani group
, which holds 80% stake.
Speaking to TOI, the project's CEO, SVR Srinivas, clarified that the masterplan was not a development plan (DP) and that public suggestions and objections would be invited when changes are made in the future to the Dharavi DP, which was published in 2016.
"The masterplan lays out the broad strategy. It is not a DP which gives details on land use. There is an existing DP for Dharavi which was published in 2016. When changes are made to that 2016 Dharavi DP, we will be inviting suggestions and objections," said Srinivas.
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He also said the masterplan was based on the 2016 DP. "There is over 90% consonance between the 2016 DP and the masterplan," he said.
Gaikwad referred to the project as a "mega land-grab". "This is not a development plan but a master-plan for the most unjust mass displacement in urban India's history," she said on X. She also called it "Adani's Dharavi Vinash Master Plan." Gaikwad said barely 40% of the survey documentation work was complete after three years, an indication of the "massive public unrest" about the project.
She also asked why the survey was being conducted by "Adani's men" instead of the land-owning govt agencies, as is the case in such projects. "Threats, force, and undue pressure have been put on people to participate in the survey," she alleged. She also said the govt should put the list of those found eligible and ineligible in the public domain.
In response, Srinivas told TOI the bulk of local tenements were surveyed. "Around 1 lakh tenements have already been surveyed. Only around 20,000 are remaining. We have issued multiple notices for people to come forward and participate in the survey because we do not want to exclude anyone," said Srinivas. He said the DRP conducted a drone survey in 2023 and a LiDAR survey to map the area. He denied charges that "Adani's men" were conducting the survey to identify eligible tenements.
"As in most SRA projects, the survey is being conducted by an agency. It is being financed by the Adani group. But a govt official is present during the survey and all receipts are issued by the govt official," said Srinivas.
