Dharavi is about to change forever! 10,000 rehabilitation homes coming in 18 months

Mumbai's ambitious Dharavi Redevelopment Project is set to achieve its first major milestone, with the initial 10,000 rehabilitation homes expected to be completed within the next 18 months, marking the beginning of one of the world's largest urban renewal initiatives.

According to a statement made by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the Maharashtra Assembly, the redevelopment is designed to transform Dharavi into a modern mixed-use township while preserving its thriving small-business ecosystem.

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Rehabilitation priority

Instead of holding a ceremonial groundbreaking event, the government has decided to prioritise construction.

"We will complete 10,000 rehabilitation houses within the next one and a half years. Rather than conducting a bhoomi pujan, we have decided to hold a key-handover ceremony for these 10,000 slum residents at the hands of the Honourable Prime Minister," Fadnavis said.

Challenges in Dharavi

"Many people assume that Dharavi has a vast amount of open land and that executing things there is very straightforward. However, if we look at the entire Dharavi area, the buildable area is only 104 hectares; the rest is non-buildable," Fadnavis said.

Because of this limitation, authorities must first construct nearly 95 million square feet of rehabilitation housing before developing around 130 million square feet of saleable real estate, making the sequencing of construction critical to the project's success.

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Dharavi is a growth engine

CM stressed that the redevelopment is intended to transform Dharavi into an economic hub rather than simply replace slums with apartments.

"Dharavi is not merely a housing project; it is our growth engine, our economic engine," Fadnavis said.

The redevelopment plan includes modern facilities for Dharavi's well-known leather, pottery, food processing and other micro-industries. Many of these businesses currently operate in the informal economy and will be integrated into the formal sector through dedicated commercial infrastructure.

To ease this transition, the state has proposed a five-year GST exemption for these rehabilitated businesses after they become part of the formal economy.

Home within Dharavi

The project aims to rehabilitate, redevelop and resettle nearly 1.6 lakh residential, commercial and industrial units.

Residents eligible before the year 2000 will receive 350-square-foot homes within Dharavi. Those falling under the 2000–2011 eligibility period will also receive homes inside Dharavi after paying ₹2.5 lakh, following changes made after addressing legal issues linked to an earlier High Court cut-off date.

"Every single eligible person, 100% of the eligible residents of Dharavi, will receive a home within Dharavi," Fadnavis said.

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World's largest urban renewal mission

The Adani Group won the bid for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project in November 2022, committing an initial investment of ₹5,069 crore to transform one of Asia's largest slum clusters. The project is being executed by Navbharat Mega Developers Private Limited (NMDPL), a joint venture between the Maharashtra government and the Adani Group. Widely described as the world's largest urban rejuvenation initiative, it is also seen as a major step toward making Mumbai slum-free.