State initiates land acquisition for Dharavi redevelopment project

The State Cabinet has approved a proposal to acquire 283 acres of Mumbai's salt pan land from the Union Government for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). This land is owned by the Centre and is situated across Kanjurmarg, Wadala, and Bhandup. The land will be handed over to Adani Realty, the entity responsible for the DRP. The objective is to construct a rental housing scheme for ineligible slum dwellers from Dharavi.

Following the Cabinet's approval, a statement issued by the state government outlined the necessity of this land for housing under the DRP. A formal proposal will be forwarded to the Centre for the acquisition of 283 acres of land from four salt pans in Mumbai. Interestingly, one of these parcels was initially earmarked for a Metro car depot by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Additionally, a separate proposal will be submitted to the Union Government for utilising the salt pan lands in the rehabilitation of Dharavi residents as part of the slum redevelopment project. The market value of these lands will be recuperated from the special purpose vehicle (SPV) responsible for the Dharavi slum colony's redevelopment and then transferred to the Centre. The Dharavi redevelopment project was formally awarded to Adani Group by the Maharashtra Government in July last year. This multi-crore project, to be executed by an SPV, aims to rebuild Dharavi, Asia's largest slum sprawl, in central Mumbai.

Notably, one of the land parcels initially designated for the Metro car depot was contested by the Central Government, which claimed ownership of the Kanjurmarg salt pan land. Legal proceedings resulted in a stay order on transferring the 102-acre plot to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority. The Union Government owns approximately 283 acres of salt pan land across Arthur Salt Works Land (120.5 Acres), Jenkins Salt Works Land (76.9 Acres), Jamasp Salt Works Land (58.5 Acres), and Agar Sulemanshah Land (27.5 Acres) in Mumbai. A proposal will be made to transfer this land to the state government on a 99-year lease for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project.

Officials confirm that the salt pan lands in Kanjurmarg and Bhandup will be utilised by the DRP to rehabilitate Dharavi residents. Once the land is transferred, the state government will recover its market price from the SPV. The SPV will bear the costs associated with labour, rehabilitation, and land acquisition.

The state has previously stated that ineligible Dharavi residents will be accommodated in rental housing projects. It is estimated that around 3.5-4 lakh people, living on mezzanine and upper floors in slum structures, will be provided with rental housing. Approximately 50,000 families and 1.5 lakh individuals, primarily migrants, are expected to benefit from affordable housing solutions.

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State initiates land acquisition for Dharavi redevelopment project

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