Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday called the Dharavi redevelopment project a "scheme to loot" and alleged the Eknath Shinde government wants to "sell Mumbai to the Adani group".
He asserted it was imperative the "right people" implement the project in Dharavi, among the world's densest urban sprawls with shanties dominating its 590 acre area.
"Dharavi redevelopment is not a project but a scheme to loot. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde wants to sell Mumbai to Adani Group, but we will not let it happen. No matter the strength of the power behind that 'favourite industrialist,' we will stop Mumbai from being swallowed by him," Raut told reporters.
"The Dharavi redevelopment project is crucial for the residents living in the slums. Shiv Sena (UBT) fully supports the proposal to provide these people with 500 square feet houses. It is imperative that the right people implement the project," Raut added.
Incidentally, in a shot in the arm for the redevelopment project, a newly formed association of residents of Dharavi and its vicinity has lent its support to ongoing state government-led survey of informal tenements, a precursor to the $3-billion project by the Adani group.
"We request the survey be conducted at the earliest possible time to ensure the redevelopment can move forward without further delays," Citizen and Society Development Welfare body of Dharavi residents wrote to S V R Srinivas, CEO Dharavi Redevelopment Project/Slum Rehabilitation Authority (DRP/SRA), of government of Maharashtra, on July 30.
The survey, which began on March 18, 2024, has so far completed 10,000 tenements via door to door visits while counting has been done on more than 21,000 tenements. This includes residential, commercial tenements and religious structures as well across Dharavi.
Mapping of the roughly 600 acres of densely populated Dharavi is crucial for the redevelopment that is likely to take seven years to complete.