SOME RESIDENTS OFFERED FREE HOME
In recent weeks, the Dharavi Redevelopment Project – a joint venture between Adani and the Maharashtra government – has been digitally mapping the slum.
It also started a door-to-door survey to assess who might be entitled to a free home. Only those who have lived in the slum since before 2000 will qualify; they have been promised free 350 sq ft apartments.
However, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of residents will not meet this criterion. They will be offered rental accommodation instead, some of which will be outside of Dharavi.
Dharavi Redevelopment Project deputy collector Vinay Gosavi said the survey will take six to eight months, and they will take this time to decide where to relocate the residents.
Worried about these changes, some residents have staged protests against the redevelopment.
Opposition parties have also spoken out, accusing the state government of giving preferential treatment to Adani, which came under scrutiny following accusations by a United States short seller last year of financial irregularities within the group.
There is also an ongoing legal battle between Adani and a Dubai-based company over the bidding process.
However, Adani said that it won the contract in a fair process. The state government also denied any wrongdoing, saying the project will improve residents’ lives.
SOME LOOK FORWARD TO IMPROVEMENTS
Some residents agree. Many live in poorly constructed and cramped homes with no access to running water or their own toilets.
“We have very narrow lanes, and when we pass through these lanes it’s always dark. We can’t tell if the sun is out – we can’t tell the difference between day or night,” said resident Yogendra Jaiswal, who welcomes the redevelopment as long as he is given a new home in Dharavi.
His wife died of tuberculosis, which he blames on their living conditions.
While redeveloping the slum will result in the upheaval of many residents’ lives, to Mr Yogendra, it could spell a change for the better.
“The lanes are so narrow that only one person can walk through it at a time, and there is so much filth. The drains are open, garbage everywhere that also leads to a lot of sickness,” he added.
Source: CNA
