Mumbai’s Dharavi slum is home to 1 million residents and spans about 600 football fields. Its long-awaited redevelopment has led to anxiety, but some residents also welcome the changes.

Residents of Dharavi slum in Mumbai, India.

MUMBAI: Business owner Deepak Kale, who has manufactured and sold leather goods in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum for more than four decades, is worried.

He faces the possibility of being displaced from the slum – one of Asia’s largest, which is home to about 1 million residents and spans 635 acres – the size of roughly 600 football fields.

Made famous by the Oscar-winning 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, Dharavi also houses thriving industries that include pottery, textiles, and leather.

Work has started on the slum’s redevelopment, with the project unlocking much-needed land and helping to modernise India’s financial capital. 

The state government of Maharashtra approved plans to redevelop the slum about 20 years ago, but the sheer scale of the task meant that it only awarded the project to Indian conglomerate Adani Group last year.

CONCERNS ABOUT IMPACT

Adani, which put in a US$619 million bid for the redevelopment, is now pushing ahead with plans to rebuild Dharavi in partnership with Mumbai’s slum rehabilitation authority. 

The project is expected to take seven years and is part of a plan to make Mumbai slum-free. About 40 per cent of the city’s population currently live in slums.

Dharavi residents like Mr Deepak have expressed concerns about the potential impact of this redevelopment on their lives and livelihoods.

He told CNA that he has about 200 people working in his business, and their families live in Dharavi as well.

“If the business is moved from here, we'll face a lot of issues. All my workers will face problems, my family will face problems,” he said.

Developers have said there will be a place for many of these industries in the rebuilt area, and they will be given benefits, including a refund on the state Goods and Services Tax.

Deepak Kale (right) at his leather goods shop in Mumbai's Dharavi slum.

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.

This article was originally published on CNA. Its inclusion on this website is solely for education purposes.