‘3 months rent; must vacate the house within 7 days’ – Order to slum dwellers in Dharavi Sector 1

The slums in Dharavi, Mumbai are considered the largest slums in Asia. The task of demolishing those slums and constructing multi-storey residential buildings there has been assigned to the Adani Group. The company, in collaboration with the state government, has completed the survey of the slums in Dharavi. Under the slum rehabilitation scheme, the new rules set by the Adani Group have created a risk that thousands of people may not receive housing. The Adani Group has stated that even if a person owns more than one slum dwelling, only one house will be given in that person's name. If there are multiple houses, the condition has been imposed that those houses must be transferred to the names of relatives.

Additionally, the survey results indicate that only the most deserving individuals will receive houses within Dharavi, while the rest will be provided houses outside Dharavi. This has caused the people of Dharavi to live in fear. Meanwhile, a list of eligible individuals for alternative housing in one sector of Dharavi has been released. Notices have now been given to those included in that list. The notice states that the house must be vacated within 7 days, and if not vacated, action will be taken under the Slum Rehabilitation Act, with the costs to be borne by the slum dwellers themselves.

Seeing this, the slum dwellers are shocked. This notice has been given as the first phase only to the residents of the Ganesh Nagar area in Dharavi Sector One. The municipal administration is planning to lay a sewer pipeline in that area. There are slums in the middle of the pipeline route. The Dharavi slum redevelopment project is being carried out by a joint company called Navparth Mega Developers Private Limited. When we spoke to the officials of Navparth Mega Developers regarding this, they said, "We have discussed and reached an agreement with the slum dwellers about the rent."

However, the slum dwellers are refusing to vacate their houses. The slum dwellers will be gradually resettled in the buildings being constructed on the land vacated by the railway. But as a first step, 3,500 slum houses need to be vacated immediately. A sewage pipe needs to be installed in that area. That is why we have asked the people of Ganesh Nagar to vacate their houses. All necessary assistance will be provided to them," he said. When we spoke to Ramilaa, a slum dweller affected by this, she said, "We are under a lot of stress. We don't know what to do. At first, we said we would not move to temporary housing, and…

They said they would directly move us to a multi-storey apartment. But now, they are asking us to vacate the house without even providing an alternative house. Initially, they said they would give two years' rent to vacate the house. But now, they say they will only give rent for 3 months. After vacating the house, they say they will give rent for another 9 months. They say the rent will be Rs. 28,000 per month. "We want an alternative house," he said. There is a fear among the people of Dharavi that, in the same way, the slum dwellers living in other parts of Dharavi will be asked to vacate their houses by only giving rent without providing alternative housing.

It is noteworthy that the Dharavi slum redevelopment project is being implemented at a cost of Rs. 95,000 crore.