Dharavi
Residents say it will be death sentence to move to Mumbai’s fringe areas where garbage and waste is dumped or treated. Dharavi redevelopment plan: Resettlement is leading to fear
While the plan promises formal housing for eligible residents and commercial opportunities for developers, it leaves out around 50,000 to 100,000 residents, labelled “ineligible” for lacking proper documentation.
Many of these people are slated for relocation to other areas, including a 124-acre plot within Mumbai’s Deonar dumping ground. Other proposed sites for ineligible residents include Mother Dairy land in Kurla, salt pan land in Mulund, near Aksa Beach in Malad, Arthur Salt Work land in Kanjurmarg, and Jenkins Salt Work land off the Eastern Express Highway.
When asked if Jain would be willing to shift from Dharavi to the Deonar relocation site, he refused and said, “Mumbai’s waste goes to the Deonar dumping ground. If Dharavi’s people are shifted there, we will die of health issues. Does the government work to kill people? My friends who live in Govandi (where Deonar dumping ground is located) are often seen visiting hospitals quite frequently.”
Each day, around 600 tonnes of new waste is dumped here. A Central Pollution Control Board report submitted to the National Green Tribunal in 2024 states that the landfill emits more than 6,202 kg of methane per hour, ranking it among the top 22 methane emission hotspots in India.
These emissions, along with periodic fires and leachate seepage, pose major health risks for nearby residents.
“We want development in Dharavi. A better life, yes – but not at the cost of our lives,” says Jain. “We are for development, if we are allowed to stay where we already live, among our people.”
Isha Lohia
23/07/2025
Dharavi is the hub of small-scale manufacturing and industrial units. The commercial and industrial structures mainly operate in garments, plastic recycling, dyeing, aluminium moulding, leather processing, farsan making, pottery and box making as commercial and industrial units. Apart from the se commercial activities recycling, farsan making and pottery are other commercial activities carried out in Dharavi. A general figure usually mentioned is that the commercial activities in the vast slum generate $ 1 billion per year.
Tens of thousands of workers are employed in these units. The current plan is mute on the rehabilitation of workers. Workers in these units are migrants from Bihar, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Most of them migrated to Mumbai to escape acute poverty in their home states. Displacement of their workplace and work shall not just impact them but impact over lakh families who are dependent on these migrants. There is no clear plan for rehabilitation of these workers. The tenement owner shall be compensated in the form of a commercial or industrial unit but the workers shall be forced to dwell in these units as was the arrangement before.
while the current Dharavi Redevelopment seems to address the needs of the people of Dharavi, it will eventually and the city at large. Dharavi is a complex ecosystem of residences, rentals, commercial and industrial units. On paper, the proposed plan addresses each of these but in reality, it will destroy the lives and livelihoods of toilers who find employment in these commercial and industrial units. It will disrupt occupations like garment manufacturing and allied industries, leather bags and accessories, waste recycling, fishing and others. It will also displace home-based work that is carried out to support these occupations. It will also increase the drudgery of people in the construction industry and domestic work. Work will be lost for men and women in large numbers. It will not impact the migrant workers and their families here but their families back in their native states – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. The need at the present juncture is to support the already existing economies when every 3rd person in the working age is unemployed.
by Shweta Damle
20/05/2025
BMC has proposed land allocation for Dharavi Redevelopment Project, reveals RTI https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/bmc-has-proposed-land-allocation-for-dharavi-redevelopment-project-reveals-rti/article68367468.ece July 05, 2024 BMC has submitted the proposal to the Urban Development Department, Maharashtra State Government for the allocation of five acres of land in Mulund out of the 18 acres for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project on an immediate basis as it’s readily available, and the remaining 10 acres will be handed over after the completion of the ongoing project work.
It is alleged that 41.6 acres of land is now given for dumping ground reclamation and will be given over for Dharavi Rehabilitation Project after June 2025
“Earlier, it was claimed that no land had been allocated for the Dharavi Rehabilitation Project in Mulund. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Kirit Somaiya and Mihir Kotecha had spread misinformation during the election campaign. It is important to note that the master plan for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project is still pending, which will determine the number of eligible citizens, the amount of land required, and the location of the rehabilitation,” Mr. Devre said.
Dharavi residents to get 350 sq ft flats with kitchen and toilet after redevelopment: Adani Group https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/dharavi-residents-to-get-350-sq-ft-flats-after-redevelopment-adani-group/article67743065.ece January 15, 2024
The new flats will be dream homes for all Dharavikars and will upgrade their living conditions.
Protesters stage massive march against redevelopment project https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/remove-adani-save-dharavi-protesters-stage-massive-march-against-redevelopment-project/article67645451.ece December 16, 2023 Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray says his party is not against development but not pro-builders while BJP holds that the tender was set up during the MVA regime
ackaeray
Large Protest in Mumbai Against Dharavi Redevelopment Project Given to Adani Group https://thewire.in/rights/large-protest-in-mumbai-against-dharavi-redevelopment-project-given-to-adani-group Udhav Thackeray "this is the biggest TDR [Transfer of Development Rights] scam of the world. Adani is getting TDR of Rs 1 crore, which means his next generations can also live peacefully without working. So much is the TDR that the government is gifting them."
Both the BJP and the Adani Group have claimed that it was the MVA government that had signed an agreement with the Adani Group. “The Dharavi project was awarded to the Adani Group through a fair, open, internationally competitive bidding process,” the group said in a statement.
“The tender conditions were finalised during the MVA government’s tenure and have remained unchanged post-awarding. Hence, it is inaccurate to claim any special privileges granted to the awardee,” it continued.
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