The Dharavi Redevelopment Project has also become a big issue this time in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Mahavikas Aghadi says if he comes to power, the tender for the Dharavi project awarded to the Adani Group will be cancelled.
On Monday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi also raised questions about this project at a press conference. Rahul said that Dharavi’s future is not certain. This project will cause harm to the people of Dharavi.
During the press conference, Rahul Gandhi focused on the BJP’s election slogan: “If we are united, we are safe.” Rahul took out a poster on which a map of Dharavi was drawn. Showing this, Rahul said that billionaires want Mumbai land to come into their hands. It is estimated that one lakh crore rupees will be given to a billionaire.
Opposition parties made the Dharavi Redevelopment Project a big issue in the election campaign. In Dharavi, there is a contest between Jyoti Gaikwad of Congress and Rajesh Khandare of Shiv Sena (Shinde faction). The Gaekwad family has been dominating the Dharavi seat. Varsha Gaikwad won here from 2004 to 2019. This time her sister Jyoti will contest the elections from here.
In the year 2002, Adani Group won the bid for this project with a bid of Rs 5,069 crore. Dharavi is also called the “heart of Mumbai”. This slum, established during the British era, is today the largest slum in Asia and the third largest in the world. It is estimated that more than Rs 20,000 crore will be spent on the redevelopment of Dharavi. In this, Adani Group will initially invest Rs 5,069 crore.
What is this Dharavi project?
In 1999, when there was a BJP-Shiv Sena coalition government in Maharashtra, a proposal to rebuild Dharavi was first made. After this, in 2003-04, the Maharashtra government came up with the Dharavi redevelopment plan.
The government wants Dharavi not to be counted among the biggest slums but to be recognized as the best. Houses and commercial complexes should also be built here instead of cottages.
The Dharavi redevelopment project is worth Rs 20,000 crore and is expected to be completed in 17 years. While the objective is to settle the people who live here in permanent homes in 7 years. This entire project will cover more than 1 million square feet of land.
Under this project, people who will be living in Dharavi from January 1, 2000 or earlier will be provided with a 350 sq ft house in Dharavi. Those who have built their houses on the land between January 1, 2000 and January 1, 2011, will get a 300 sq ft house on the outskirts of Dharavi under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. For this you will have to pay Rs 2.5 lakh. At the same time, those people whose houses are on the upper floors or who have come and settled here after January 1, 2022, will not get any house in Dharavi.
Dharavi…Heart of Bombay
Dharavi is also called the heart of Mumbai. This settlement, established during the British period, is today the largest settlement in Asia and the third largest in the world.
How many people live in Dharavi? There is no exact figure for this. But it is estimated that 6 to 10 lakh people live here. There are 58 thousand families and around 12 thousand commercial complexes in Dharavi.
The British established Dharavi in 1882. The purpose of its establishment was to provide affordable accommodation to the workers. Little by little people began to settle here and slums were formed. The land in Dharavi is government land, but people have built slums here at their own expense.
There are so many slums here that the land is not visible from a distance. Dharavi, spread over 550 acres, has more than 2 lakh people living within a kilometer radius. From this you can estimate the population density here.
In Dharavi, 8 to 10 people live together in a small 100 square feet slum. Some slums have also been built in which there are factories as well as houses. About 80 percent of people use public toilets.
Dharavi is a colony of ‘stubborn’ people
Dharavi is known as a slum. This is also true. But in reality this is a colony of stubborn people. Day laborers and also those who run their own businesses live here in the narrow streets. Mahim and Sion are railway stations on either side of Dharavi. From here, thousands of people come and go to Dharavi every day. There are so many people here that it takes bravery and courage to enter.
Like Mumbai, Dharavi is also a colony of people running after work. The difference is that people living in Mumbai city live in nice flats and houses and people living in Dharavi live in cramped, small and dirty settlements. But this is a colony of stubborn people, who never stop.
The ‘Slumdog’ settlement…
The movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was released in 2008. The shooting of this movie was done only in Dharavi. The film shows how a boy who lives in this poor neighborhood becomes a millionaire.
This neighborhood is one of those “dogs of the slums.” Here you will find an entrepreneur in one out of every four houses. According to one estimate, there are more than 22,000 small business owners here.
Leather goods, jewelry and decorative ceramics are made in the colony. The things manufactured in this colony are then sold in the country and abroad.
Reports say that there are more than 5 thousand registered businessmen in these slums. While more than 15 thousand factories are built in each room. The recycling industry here provides employment to more than 2.5 lakh people, including women and children.
It is believed that every inch of land in Dharavi is used for some productive work. According to one estimate, the annual turnover in Dharavi amounts to $1 billion, or about Rs 80 billion.
The epidemic came… but Dharavi remained
There are so many people in Dharavi that dirt often remains here. This is the reason why diseases also spread very quickly here.
When the plague spread throughout the world in 1896, it also affected Dharavi, because a large number of people lived here already at that time. Even after the plague ended, the people of Dharavi had to face different types of diseases for the next 25 years.
When cholera spread in 1986, it affected Dharavi the most. It is believed that most of the people admitted to Mumbai hospitals at that time were from Dharavi.
The first case of Corona was reported in Dharavi in April 2020. After that Corona bomb exploded here. The number of patients increased day by day. The biggest problem was how to ensure social distancing in the narrow streets. But Dharavi fought the battle with Corona and won.
