CM’s proposal for 400-sq-ft Dharavi homes shot down : Hindustan Times

DRA says offering slum dwellers 100 sqft extra will make project unviable

MUMBAI: The Dharavi Redevelopment Authority (DRA) has shot down Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s proposal to give residents 400-sq-foot (carpet area) houses instead of 300-sqfoot ones under the long-delayed Dharavi redevelopment project.

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It contends that offering an extra 100 square feet will make the project unviable. Last year, Fadnavis had asked the DRA to work out if it was possible to provide 400-sq-feet homes to those willing to pay for the extra space.

The DRA, a senior official said, recently gave the chief minister a presentation on how any largesse would wreck the entire scheme. “Dharavi has height restrictions for buildings and if we start to offer the extra 100 square feet, there won’t be any space for builders to construct flats for sale. This will put off many developers as they won’t be able to make money,” said the official, who did not wish to be named. Buildings in Dharavi cannot exceed 80 metres (around 21 storeys) as the area is in the airport’s funnel zone (takeoff and landing path).

The option of transfer of development rights (TDR), which was used to clear the airport land, has been ruled out for Dharavi. “TDR generated in Dharavi cannot be transferred anywhere else in the city. It can only be used in Dharavi only and hence is of no use,” the official said.

He added that even if the Civil Aviation Ministry eases Dharavi’s height restrictions, the state government will have to amend Development Control Regulations (DCR), which could delay the project by another year.

The DRA already has a roadmap for the project, which includes floating global tenders and specifies a time frame to redevelop India’s largest slum. It is awaiting clearance from the state government.

The Dharavi project began on February 4, 2004, but has been mired in controversy and delays. In the initial stages there were 101 builders on board. Nineteen of these were shortlisted by DRA, but of these, only seven remain on board. In 2011, the state cancelled the global tenders, putting the project back at square one.

Neptune Group, which was among the seven shortlisted builders, said that it was about time that a final policy came into force. “We spent a lot of money on the last bidding process. The government should take a final decision and avoid such flip-flops,” said Nayan Shah, president (operations), Neptune Group.

Residents of Dharavi, too, expressed disappointment. “The state government does not have the will to undertake the project and bureaucrats are just creating hurdles to derail the scheme. We are ready to move, even into 300-sq-foot houses, but they have not even starting the project,” said Raju Kode, president of Dharavi Bachao Samitee.