Will scrap Dharavi redevelopment project tender, won't let Mumbai turn into Adani city: Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the Dharavi slum redevelopment project tender awarded to industrialist Gautam Adani's firm will be scrapped if his party comes to power in Maharashtra.

Addressing a press conference, Thackeray said his party will ensure Dharavi residents and businesses are not uprooted, adding that people staying there must be given 500 square feet houses in the locality itself.

"We will scrap Dharavi slum redevelopment project tender after coming to power. The government should give an answer as to why it should not be scrapped now itself. We will not allow Mumbai to be turned into Adani city," the former chief minister said.

Additional concessions that are not specified in the contract are being given to the Adani Group in the project to redevelop Dharavi, one of the world's densest urban sprawls, Thackeray claimed.

"We will not give additional concessions. We will see what is good for residents of Dharavi and if need arises we will issue a fresh tender," he asserted.

Thackeray also took a dig at the government, and asked if it was planning to start a 'Ladka Mitra' (dear friend) scheme on the lines of 'Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana', which aims to give women a measly sum of Rs 1,500 per month.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress had made the Dharavi redevelopment project a major poll issue in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Anil Desai had secured a lead of 36,857 against Shiv Sena's sitting MP Rahul Shewale from Dharavi assembly segment. He went on to defeat Shewale by a margin of 53,384 votes.

Thackeray said every home is being given a number, adding that the government wants to get Dharavi residents into a trap of eligibility and ineligibility and then drive them away.

Thackeray said the government was trying to procure land under the slum rehabilitation scheme for rehabilitating the residents of Dharavi.

The government has initiated the process of procuring 20 such plots in the city, which are meant for infrastructure works or development related plans, the former chief minister said.

This will in turn lead to imbalance in the city as many the places where the residents are to be relocated will witness stress on existing infrastructure, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief pointed out.

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

The tender was awarded to Adani Properties in November 2022 after a competitive bidding that also saw realty major DLF and Naman Developers taking part.