The long-pending Dharavi redevelopment project got a go-ahead from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday. The tenants will get houses of 350 sq. ft instead of 300 sq.
The long-pending Dharavi redevelopment project got a go-ahead from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday. The tenants will get houses of 350 sq. ft instead of 300 sq. ft as recommended by the erstwhile Congress-NCP government. The government is likely to float tenders in 15 days for the remaining four sectors of the notified slum area. Sector five was given three years ago to MHADA for redevelopment during the Congress-NCP regime.
The nod from the chief minister came after a meeting of all the departments associated with the development of the slums in central Mumbai was held on Tuesday. “On Wednesday, the chief minister gave the approval to float tenders of the project,” an official from the urban development department confirmed.
“The state will float global tenders in 15 days in which Indian developers can also participate. The eligibility criteria will be improved this time compared to the past. We will keep the tendering process easy to avoid complexities. The chief minister has asked to conduct the tendering process as per the Central Vigilance Committee’s recommendations to avoid any irregularities,” an official associated with the Dharavi redevelopment project said, on condition of anonymity.
“There was a demand for homes of 400 sq. ft. But it could not be fulfilled. The earlier recommendation was for 300 sq ft houses. But, we have decided to give 350 sq ft,” the official added.
As per the Development Control Rules, under slum redevelopment, houses of 269 sq. ft are given. The rule was changed by the then Congress-NCP, which said houses of 300 sq. ft will be given. Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale had demanded 400 sq. ft. However, the state has finalised 350 sq. ft of redeveloped houses in which 50 sq. ft will come from fungible FSI, the official said.
The Dharavi redevelopment project was another ambitious one by the government, but was delayed for over 10 years. Late chief minister during the Congress regime, Vilasrao Deshmukh, had first moved the idea of redevelopment of the biggest slum in Asia. There are over 57,000 slum structures, housing a population of over 3.5 lakh.
