Master Plan For Rehabilitation Under Dharavi Redevelopment Project Soon: Deputy Director

"The master plan is being prepared to address all these things (issues around rehabilitation). The first cut of the master plan is already ready, and refinement of the master plan is still underway," Pallavi Paranjape, deputy director of town planning at the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, told NDTV Profit in an exclusive interaction.

She was speaking on the sidelines of a convocation ceremony organised by Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt. for Dharavi students graduating in various skill development courses.

The courses offered are a part of the group's Dharavi Social Mission offered in technical fields such as electronics repair, beauty, and retail. The students will also be offered employment opportunities by retail majors such as Zudio.

There are a lot of industries, commercial components, and ineligible people as well. Issues related to all these will be addressed under the plan, Paranjape added.

Construction under the project is likely to start in the next six months, and a survey is already under way to gather the exact count of eligible and ineligible residents for free and rental accommodation.

"Yes, the construction is likely to start soon. The survey is underway at the moment. About 11,000 houses have already been covered under the survey," Paranjpe said. She added that the rehabilitation authority is expecting the survey to be completed by February-March next year.

The Maharashtra Cabinet had recently approved the transfer of 256 acres of salt pan land in Kanjurmarg, Vakola, and Mulund suburbs of Mumbai. However, the acquired land parcels will be used to rehabilitate ineligible slum dwellers at Dharavi.

"The survey will determine the actual number of people—that how many ineligible people will be there. Right now, the numbers are all assumptions," Paranjape said. "After the numbers are out, we will be in a better position to know how much additional land we require."

Transit accommodation is the new need for Dharavi slum dwellers, said Paranjape, adding that efforts were on to avoid transit accommodation and that is why additional land was being procured.

"So, the effort is that everybody shifts at their homes, and there is no question of transit required. So, other plans related to rehabilitation of ineligible residents are also in process."

However, Paranjape refused to comment if a possible change in the government in the next election can affect the redevelopment process of Asia's largest slum.