New consultant for Dharavi revamp plan

AWAITING BETTER FUTURE Redvpt Area Divided Into 13 Sub-Zones Instead Of 4 Sectors Mumbai: The Dharavi revamp project may finally take off. On Tuesday, the project got a new management consultant.      To avoid a 2009-like fiasco, the state government is considering inviting phase-wise bids to redevelop the 13 sub-zones in which Dharavi has now been divided, instead of the four big sectors.      The plan, which is in the initial stage, is based on an analysis of the current sluggish market, said an official. "In 2009, besides the ego clash between two project authorities, property downturn was another reason for lack of bidders. We do not want poor response this time," the official added. Bids may be invited after November.      Breaking up the project into phases will facilitate the bidding process while the outline and core norms will continue to govern it as a township.      A single developer can bid for all phases or a cluster. "Monitored by a regulator, these smaller phases will be integrated, in terms of amenities and infrastructure. The regulators will ensure essential similarity in these phases," said an official.      Ernst and Young, which won the bid to be the project's management consultant, will look after the revamp of four sectors; the fifth sector is being handled byMhada.      But the government has been unable to finalize the criteria for slum-dwellers who are eligible to get a free home in the rehabilitation scheme. As per rules framed for Dharavi, the government had set January 1, 2000 (against January 1, 1995) as the cut-off date for slum-dwellers to be residing in a surveyed tenement to get free housing. But barring 15%-20% slumdwellers, a survey, by a Dharavi Redevelopment Authority (DRA)-appointed NGO, found the remaining are ineligible.      "We have suggested that the government should consider other proofs like ration card, electricity bill, passport and not only voter identity card to make a slum-dweller eligible for free housing. The government can also charge a fee to transfer the tenancy rights," said Hukumraj Mehta, Congress district president of Dharavi.      The DRA has completed hearing 765 suggestions and objections to the Dharavi Development Plan, spread over 152 hectares, received from 59,000 tenements.      The DRA has recorded 2,015 demands and it will now present a report to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, which will send it to the urban development department.