State agency to develop Dharavi under CM's plan

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan plans to overhaul the Rs 15,000-crore Dharavi redevelopment project. Chavan - who has already flagged what he called an "unholy nexus" among builders, politicians and middlemen in the wake of the Adarsh housing society scam - now wants state-run Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (Mhada) to carry out the big-ticket project.

That will come as a huge disappointment to a select group of builders and developers, who were to carry out redevelopment of the 535-acre slum with a population of over half a million. Their selection, however, has been mired in controversy and allegations of favouritism.

During the earlier bidding process, only seven out of 14 shortlisted builders and developers were found eligible. The state government also revised its policy to provide a floor space index of 4 to make the redevelopment project financially viable.

Under the chief minister's plan, Mhada, as a nodal agency, will rope in contractors and developers through open competitive bidding.

Chavan preferred not to divulge further details, but reiterated his government's determination to bring transparency to Mumbai's realty sector.

A senior Congress minister, who did not wish to be named, said, "The chief minister is of the view that the tender conditions were at times prepared to favour a few builders and developers. The bidding process carried out earlier for the Dharavi project lacked transparency and several objections were raised by NGOs, experts and some builders and contractors."

The Dharavi project, which was to commence by 2009, has proved a non-starter. The Congress-led state government has so far been unable to bring about a consensus on how the project should be carried out.

Under a 2005 resolution to convert Dharavi into a modern township, the area was to be divided into five sectors with residential and commercial development.

However, following widespread criticism, an expert panel was set up to review the plan. In its report, submitted in 2010, the panel suggested carving up the area into 32 sectors instead of five to accommodate the needs of various sections.

Slum-dwellers were promised a new 300-sq ft flat in Dharavi free of cost, while business owners were assured 250 sq ft on condition they would pay for the additional space.

Sunil Mantri, president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry, said, "The Dharavi redevelopment is a very old issue and has been pending for a decade. So far, the scheme has not taken shape due to various issues such as the bidding process, the cut-off date for eligibility and other local factors.

We expect the new chief minister to take a holistic approach on the entire redevelopment scheme and ensure that within a year, it takes off in a transparent manner."