Gautam Adani, CEO of the Adani Group, stated after winning the right to reconstruct the neighborhood that he aims to “transform Dharavi into a modern city hub” by helping small enterprises and creating new jobs geared towards young people and women.

The plan would outline the locations of rehabilitation and free-sale buildings and public facilities such as schools, hospitals, gardens, and playgrounds.

The aim of the Adani Dharavi project

 The following are a few aims of the Adani Dharavi project

• Dismantle the prevailing slum conditions, which are regarded as “unsanitary and deplorable” in the Dharavi

The Adani Dharavi project plan entails dismantling what court documents characterize as “unhygienic, deplorable” conditions in the slum, which is famed for its leather products manufacture. The project aims to build additional skyscrapers on government-owned land, offering present inhabitants more housing and commercial space. Adani’s investment in redeveloping Dharavi might total $12 billion. In exchange for this endeavour, the Adani Group would receive development rights with the potential to earn $24 billion in income.

Individuals who lived in Dharavi before 2000, primarily on the lower levels, would receive free accommodation as part of the redevelopment plan. However, the government considers around 700,000 persons residing on upper floors, including mezzanine groups, ineligible.

• Replacing 250 dilapidated buildings with 11 new skyrises

Dharavi, one of the world’s biggest slums, is a living monument to the notion that urban planners have little influence over population density. When people want to move to a location with limited land availability, population density will grow, regardless of the strict construction codes. As a result, population density is more significant in low-rise settlement areas such as Dharavi than in high-rise parts of Mumbai.

Authorities may allow several such towers to grow in Dharavi to suit its infrastructure demands while concurrently enhancing its infrastructure. For this reason, the Adani Dharavi project proposes constructing skyscrapers in Dharavi to bring development to the slum.

•  Provide new housing and commercial space for present inhabitants

The redevelopment will provide inhabitants of Dharavi, crammed into matchbox-sized hovels, with flats with a minimum carpet space of 405 square feet. The project would need significant relocation and will take nearly two decades. Due to its strategic location at the nexus of the island city and the suburbs, access to roadheads and railheads, and proximity to the business district of the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), the area is suitable for redevelopment. The area has houses and approximately 5,000 informal industries.

Plus, commercial units will be transformed into one of Mumbai’s most expensive pieces of real estate. The Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) seeks to construct commercial areas for businesses, stores, and small businesses. The objective is to create economic possibilities for current inhabitants and new enterprises.

•  To rehabilitate 6.5 lakh slum inhabitants

The cost of the Adani Dharavi project is over Rs 23,000 crore. The proposal, which includes resetting 6.5 lakh qualified slum dwellers residing in a 2.5-square-kilometer region, is expected to be completed in seven years. It will be one of India’s most significant projects when completed. People living in informal settlements are likelier to die, get wounded, or lose their houses after a disaster. Slums are frequently located in places prone to natural disasters, such as steep hillsides and floodplains.

They repeatedly need to fulfill essential building and safety regulations.

• Use land as a resource to cross-subsidize development costs

During the project, it was decided to split the land into sectors, select developers for each, and use the land as a resource to cross-subsidize the cost of building through a selling component based on the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme. The administration intends to establish a Special Planning Authority and deem the Dharavi zone undeveloped.

• Build free-sale structures to assist in offsetting the Dharavi project expenditures

Adani will be obliged to construct a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to carry out the project, and the government has also mandated a phased investment plan. The developer is responsible for all restoration, renewal, amenities, and infrastructure aspects. Adani is now working on projects in India’s financial capital, including one in suburban Ghatkopar and another in downtown Mumbai’s Byculla. The reconstruction will begin in stages, with the Group relocating the current residents to transit camps while constructing new houses.

The project would also build free-sale buildings to assist project expenditures.

Conclusion

Overall, the Adani Dharavi project has the potential to change the lives of millions of people. The Adani Group hopes to “transform Dharavi into a modern city hub” with this project.