The Maharashtra government on tuesday gave an approval to the redevelopment plan of Dharavi - Asia's largest slum. The ambitious redevelopment plan, which aims to change the face of the area, was approved by the Devendra Fadnavis-led state government, in its weekly cabinet meeting.
As per the new plan, global tenders will be invited for the project that is expected to cost Rs 22,000 crore. The state government has planned to create a special purpose vehicle for easy sanction of necessary rights required for the project. The dwellers of Dharavi will be rehabilitated in the same area.
Indian Railways is likely to give 90 acres of land for the project. The developer securing the tender will invest 80 per cent of the project cost, while the state government will invest the remaining 20 per cent. The Opposition has criticised the move as an election stunt.
"The govt already had a Special Purpose Vehicle in the form of Shiv Shahi Punar Vikas Prakalp which was started by the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government in their previous tenure. Why are they floating a new SPV ? Had they been serious, they would have started the work under the same SPV in the last four years. This is nothing but an eye-wash," Nawab Malik, Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson, said.