Dharavi Redevelopment: Maharashtra Cabinet Approves Allotment Of Deonar Land

The Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the proposal to allocate 124 acres of the Deonar landfill site to the Adani Group for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project. This decision was made during a cabinet meeting on Monday.

The Deonar landfill, one of Mumbai's oldest and largest dumping grounds, will play a key role in creating housing units as part of the ambitious redevelopment initiative. This allotment is the third such approval in just a month.

On Oct. 10, the cabinet approved around 140 acres of land in Madh for resettling Dharavi residents, while a prior meeting on Sept. 30 sanctioned the leasing of 255 acres of ecologically fragile salt-pan land for housing development.

As per media reports, under the redevelopment plan, residents of Dharavi who lived in ground-floor constructed before Jan. 1, 2000, will be eligible for new housing. Those not meeting the criteria will be offered homes through affordable rental housing schemes.

The Adani Group won the bid to redevelop Dharavi in November 2022, a project in the pipeline for nearly two decades. The initiative is expected to cost around Rs 23,000 crore and represents one of the largest redevelopment projects undertaken by a government agency in India through global tendering. With a sprawling area of 240 hectares, Dharavi is home to approximately 8 lakh residents and over 13,000 small businesses.

Dharavi was originally a settlement of fisherfolk and later attracted diverse communities, including potters, leather tanners, and embroidery workers. Over time, what began as a swamp has evolved into a overcrowded, urban area with an informal economy.

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