Decks cleared for Dharavi project

Mumbai: Clearing the decks for the Dharavi redevelopment project to take off, the Bombay high court on Monday dismissed a PIL challenging the Maharashtra government's decision to appoint Mhada to redevelop one part of the sprawling slum. Accepting the state's contention that it was a policy decision, a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Nitin Jamdar refused stay the government's decision to hand over sector 5 to Mhada for redevelopment. 

    "The decision to hand over Sector 5 to Mhada is considered as a public project and after considering its success, the state will be in a position to consider the development of the rest of the area,'' said an affidavit of the housing department submitted to the court by assistant government pleader Milind More. 

    Dharavi, once considered as Asia's biggest slum is spread over 592 acres of land. Around 377 acres of the slum is being taken up for redevelopment, and there are plans to rehabilitate over 59,000 families n 300 sq ft flats. While the cutof date for rehabilitation has been set at 2000, earlier this year in January, the state took a decision to provide free houses to post-2000 slum dwellers by regularizing the structure by charging transfer fees. 

    Work on the Dharavi redevelopment project was initially started in 2005. "The government had decided to rope in private developers to redevelop Dharavi and had invited global tenders. On the eve of opening the commercial bids, the state government has changed its decision and decided to hand over a part of the project to Mhada,'' said the advocate who was representing the petitioners Dharavi residents Anand Honkeri and Shaukat Khan. 

    In May 2011, the state scrapped the bidding process for Dharavi's redevelopment and allotted sector 5 to Mhada. 

    The state said it had the right plans in the interest of slum dwellers. A major part of the land in sector 5 is owned by the state, Mhada and BMC. Further, Mhada has transit camps in the locality to temporarily accommodate families whose structures would be taken up for rehabilitation. Mhada's past experience was also taken into consideration while allotting them Sector 5.