The Hindu Business Line : Dharavi — From Asia's largest slum to the hottest real estate?

The rules of the Slum Redevelopment Scheme will be applicable. Only those residing in the area prior to January 1, 1995 will be eligible for a home of 225 sq feet.

File picture showing a panoramic view of Dharavi.

Mumbai , May 16

ASIA'S largest slum, Dharavi, may transform into prime real estate if the Maharashtra Government's project to redevelop it is successful. The Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) has come up with an ambitious Rs 6,380-crore plan to give Dharavi a makeover by the year 2010.

Centrally located, Dharavi covers 174 hectares of land. With the development of Bandra-Kurla complex close by, it has become an attractive real estate proposition.

According to the Government's plan, Dharavi will be divided into 10 sectors, which will be developed by private builders. Around 15 per cent of the land will be reserved for open spaces like playgrounds and gardens. Land use plans have been formulated, allocating space for residential, commercial, industrial and recreational use.

The rules of the Slum Redevelopment Scheme will be applicable. Only those residing in the area prior to January 1, 1995 will be eligible for a home of 225 sq feet. The scheme will be cross-subsidised by giving builders the incentive to develop the remaining land commercially with an FSI (floor space index) limit of 4, says Mr Subhash Dalvi, officer on special duty in the SRA. This additional FSI granted only for Dharavi, since it is densely populated, may see the mushrooming of many commercial high-rise buildings. The face of the area may be totally transformed.

Besides housing around six lakh people, Dharavi is also a buzzing economic zone. It has around 5,000 small-scale industries, which generate an estimated Rs 1,500 crore-Rs 2,000 crore annually. The Government plans to create special economic zones for the famous potters of Kumbharvada and for other kinds of industry. However, it will not allow polluting industries like leather tanneries or the existing illegal chemical godowns. The government plans to set up ceramic training and leather training institutes as well as facilities to provide benefits through the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

Development plans are being revised to incorporate more reservations for recreation grounds. Existing plans also have to be altered to include the special economic zones that have been planned and to widen the roads. It is also applying for permission from the Union Government to exempt Dharavi from Coastal Regulation Zone restrictions.

During a recent visit, former Prime Minister, Mr A.B. Vajpayee, had granted Rs 500 crore for the project's infrastructure development. The municipal corporation will construct the infrastructure. Besides drainage and sewage disposal facilities, this includes hospitals, schools and markets.

However, there may prove to be certain hitches in the plan. For one, local people have not yet been consulted, says Mr A. Jockin from SPARC, a local non-governmental organisation. Moreover, several businessmen with large plots and godowns may not be willing to part with it unless they get the same amount of land when it is redeveloped. Around 12 per cent of Dharavi's population may not be eligible, as they have been residing there post the cut-off date of January 1, 1995.

Currently the SRA is conducting plane table surveys in the area and it plans to start inviting tenders in two months.

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