Uddhav Thackeray slams Dharavi revamp: ‘Mumbai won’t turn into an Adani city’

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray has said that if his party comes to power in Maharashtra, the controversial tender for the redevelopment of the Dharavi slum, which was awarded to industrialist Gautam Adani’s company, will be cancelled immediately.

Thackeray said his party is committed to ensuring that residents and businesses of Dharavi are not uprooted during the redevelopment process. Dharavi is known to be one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world.

“We are scrapping the tender for the Dharavi slum redevelopment project after coming to power,” the former Chief Minister said at a press conference on Saturday. “The government itself must now answer why it should not be scrapped. We will not allow Mumbai to be transformed into an ‘Adani city’.”

Thackeray also raised concerns about additional concessions granted to the Adani Group, beyond the contract specifications.

“We will not compromise further,” Thackeray said. “Our priority is the welfare of the people of Dharavi and if necessary we will float a fresh tender.”

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nana Patole echoed similar sentiments. He said that the Congress and Rahul Gandhi took a clear position on the Dharavi problemHowever, the BJP-led coalition government continues to push for the project.

“The initial tender for the Dharavi project was awarded to a Dubai-based company, but was later cancelled and given to Adani,” Patole pointed out.

Thackeray expressed his concern about the government approach to housing allocation. “Each house will be given a number,” he said. “This poses the risk of Dharavi residents getting caught in a web of eligibility and non-eligibility, which will ultimately drive them away.”

The government has begun acquiring 20 plots in the city for infrastructure development. However, Thackeray argued that the move could worsen the severe space shortage in the city.

The Dharavi project, which reportedly has a potential revenue of Rs 20,000 crore, involves the reconstruction of a huge slum in central Mumbai, located near the BKC business district.

The tender was awarded to Adani Properties in November 2022 following a competitive bidding process that also included real estate giant DLF and Naman Developers.