Only 16% tenements of first Dharavi survey eligible for new houses

Hindustan Times

5 days ago

MUMBAI: Nearly a month after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis approved the master plan for Dharavi's redevelopment, the first list of residents eligible for new homes was revealed to Dharavikars residing in Meghwadi recently. Residents of only 16% tenements are eligible. Only 16% tenements of first Dharavi survey eligible for new houses
To be sure, Meghwadi is only a small part of Dharavi. Residents of 505 ground-plus-one- or two-storeyed tin-roofed houses, from this small pocket, have made it to the list of eligible and ineligible for new houses once the slum gets a face-lift. The list, first of many to come, was declared by the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP), in-charge of redeveloping the area, and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), which is assisting DRP.
The eligible will get 350 square feet homes, complete with amenities, in their own neighbourhood. In a bid to accelerate in-situ rehabilitation, the government is finalising land at the Deonar dumping ground, Aksa, Mulund and salt pans in Bhandup and Kanjurmarg, and the Kurla dairy land, to house the ineligible residents.
The residents from Meghwadi, who are small business owners, consented to the surveys in May 2024, as a part of the ₹ 95,790-crore DRP. Out of 505 tenements, only those residing in 81 were found to be eligible. Those categorised as ineligible need to justify their eligibility by furnishing legitimate documents by July 5. When HT questioned an officer at DRP to explain the classification of the categories, he said, 'We are looking at multiple documents before deciding who belongs to what category'.
'The slightest question of eligibility translates into a chunk of people being pushed out of Dharavi,' said Bipin Padya, a retired small business owner. 'In our first meetings we were told that the residents will get a place on the Railway land in Matunga and Mahim where construction is underway. And now, those like us, who have lived here for three generations, are ineligible.'
Padaya and other similarly affected residents of Meghwadi met officers from the deputy collector's office on Monday seeking their intervention and their wish to understand the rationale behind the categories. Residents were earlier asked to furnish copies of their BEST electricity connection, Aadhaar card, property documents etc to establish their rights as homeowners. Many were unable to furnish sufficient documents, an officer who is in the know, told HT.
Karunanidhi, another resident, said, 'A majority of us will be ousted from Dharavi.'
'We will talk to other residents and decide on our future course of action tomorrow (June 24),' said another resident.
A senior DRP official told HT that surveys of just over 1.01 lakh tenements have been completed of which around 87,000 have submitted their documents, which are in the process of being checked. Officials said, Dharavi has around 1.25 lakh tenements. According to the master plan 58,532 are expected to be rehabilitated in Dharavi.