Adani to start mapping Mumbai's Dharavi slum in weeks

By Advait Palepu

Adani, one of India’s richest and most powerful businessmen who is seen to enjoy strong ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to complete the estimated $3 billion project over the next seven years, the people said. Last year, the billionaire said he intends to turn Dharavi into a modern hub and support the small industries based there.

His bid to revamp Dharavi has received considerable attention thanks to the slum’s fame with tourists and backdrop to multiple films, including 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire. But Adani Group faces considerable political opposition and legal hurdles to completing the renovation, which has been sounded out with little progress for decades.

In a statement issued on Monday, Adani said that eligible residents will get a 350 square foot flat in the area once the project is completed, while ineligible residents will be rehoused in areas across the city.

But with few other details about Adani’s plans for the slum yet to be made public, many of Dharavi’s estimated million residents believe Adani will gut their community, shunting them into poor quality apartments or rehouse them miles from Mumbai’s center.

Legal Tussle

Adani is also locked in a legal battle in the Bombay High Court with a Dubai-based consortium of developers and investors called SecLink Technologies Corp., which won a 2018 bid to revamp Dharavi. That tender was later canned and reissued by the state government of Maharashtra, which counts Mumbai as its capital and holds a 20 per cent stake in the Adani-controlled entity pursuing the project.

Adani’s team are aware they will have to win trust of residents and may face violent protests while conducting the survey, which will determine who is eligible for new apartments and commercial spaces, the people said.

Those who aren’t will be alloted flats or offices located within a 6 to 7.5 mile radius surrounding Dharavi, according to 2022 tender documents seen by Bloomberg News. Land for ineligible residents is yet to be purchased, said the people.

They added that the survey will help build out Adani’s master plan for the slum, which is expected to be submitted to local authorities by March — a delay from an original December deadline, according to the original tender documents.

While local firm Genesys International Ltd. will map the area, UK consultancy Buro Happold Ltd. will outline the physical infrastructure needs, while Boston-based Sasaki Associates Inc. will be in charge of the overall re-design, said one of the people.

Adani has also hired Mumbai-based architect Hafeez Contractor and several experts from Singapore. Spokespeople for Adani Group, Buro Hapold and Sasaki didn’t respond to requests for comment. Genesys declined to comment.