Middle Of Now Here - Dharavi, Urban planning

Middle Of Now Here - Dharavi, Urban planning OUTLOOK Magazine : Magazine | Feb 12, 2007

URBAN PLANNING: DHARAVI

Middle Of Now Here
In the heart of Mumbai, Asia's largest slum is slated for a makeover. Spare us, say its dwellers

Shuchi Srivastava

Dharavi's Dilemma

Of the 223 hectares, 144 hectares will be redeveloped over 7 years
Of the Rs 9,250 crore, a fifth to be spent on basic amenities
Developers to build 57,531 units for rehabilitation, but sell 35% of the redeveloped area in the open market
Builders to make a minimum profit of Rs 4,700 crore; critics estimate it to be ten times this figure
Profits to be shared between developers and government
Households to pay Rs 450 per month for maintenance
The plan envisages a shuttle train service and a skybus link to the metro

Seventy thousand residents of Dharavi, Asia's largest slum in the heart of Mumbai, are angry. They want to have a say in the state's redevelopment plan to demolish their houses and build a new township. They have decided to let the policymakers know about their angst. "We are protesting against the state's rigid stance in imposing the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) on its extremely dissatisfied residents. We want the chief minister to see for himself how the people of Dharavi will behave in case they're pushed too far," says Arputham Jockin, Magsaysay award winner and the president of the National Slum Dwellers Federation.

The anti-DRP agitation has acquired a political tinge with the formation of the Dharavi Bachao Samiti (DBS), which has 20,000 members. During last week's municipal polls, the Samiti, along with the CPI(M), fielded its candidates in all the six electoral wards in Dharavi, which has been a Congress stronghold. It's a shrill reminder that the tussle in the slum has transcended issues of development to become a contentious political battle.

Dharavians complain the DRP doesn't even require their consent unlike other slum redevelopment schemes, is ill-planned and hasn't considered the existing socio-economic realities, that it would really benefit the builders and the state government. In addition, they feel that powerful lobbies have shaped the contours of the Dharavi plan. Not surprisingly, over eight years after it was conceived, and four years after the DRP was included in the Vision Mumbai plan, there have been several hiccups in Dharavi's proposed makeover.

But before we get into specific issues, a quick reminder about DRP. The project will cost Rs 9,250 crore, of which Rs 1,800 crore will be spent on civic amenities. Two-thirds of the total area of 223 hectares will be redeveloped as a township by builders, under the private-public partnership model. Over 57,500 residential units—225 sq ft (1 BHK) each—in 7-storey buildings will be given free to existing households. Of the total redeveloped area of 144 hectares, the builder will be allowed to sell 35 per cent of the land as residential or commercial spaces in the open market.

Similar rules regarding free units and open sale govern other slum development plans in the state. The glaring difference is that the other schemes require the consent of 70 per cent of the residents, but in DRP's case, the state government has omitted this condition. Instead, it invoked an existing clause in the development control regulations, which states that projects undertaken by government agencies on public land don't require the approval of the affected slum-dwellers. And this has now become the primary issue for DBS. Complains Raju Korade, a CPI(M) member and the editor of Dharavi Times, "Many surveys have been conducted for DRP, but the people don't have a clue as to what exactly the plan holds for them."

Adding to this confusion are other arguments being raised by DRP detractors. Arputham is using religion to drive his point home.

In the last three weeks, he has advertised the fact that the DRP project document doesn't mention what will happen to the 110 religious structures (of all religions and some that are nearly 100 years old) in Dharavi Korade questions the state's motives. "The DRP's aim is not to ameliorate the conditions of the families living and working in Dharavi for the past 100 years. It's to access and auction prime property, with proximity to the city's financial centres (like the Bandra-Kurla Complex), to global bidders," he says.

The pro-DRP lobby sees such views as misrepresentations. "This is another ploy to needlessly undermine a project of this magnitude that has been undertaken for the first time in the world, and is likely to be emulated elsewhere in India and in other countries," says an angry Mukesh Mehta, CEO, MM Consultants, the state-appointed consultant for DRP. He argues it will integrate Dharavi with Mumbai, convert slums into a cultural-knowledge-business centre, and transform Dharavians into a middle-income community by 2010. CM Vilasrao Deshmukh, feels the DRP is for the "development of Dharavi and the city, so people should cooperate with us."

At the moment, Dharavians are unwilling to do so. They are convinced that the brains behind the DRP aren't aware of the realities in Dharavi. Out here, papad-makers and leather workers coexist with the dance bars, while pickle-makers and pottery experts stand cheek-to-jowl with waste-paper dealers and carpenters.

Official estimates reckon Dharavi has 4,902 industrial units, of which textiles comprise 1,036, pottery 932, leather 567, plastic processing 478 and zari stitching 498 units. The annual turnover of this bustling zone is nearly Rs 3,000 crore. Unlike other areas, most of these revenues don't come from differentiated industrial units; they come from two-storey shanties that double up as residential and commercial establishments.

One such unit is Nathalal Chauhan's house, which has a loft where he makes pots. While stirring his potter's wheel, he says, "My family has been in Kumbharwada (potter's colony) for the past 100 years, and we make 2,500 pots a day. The British allotted this area (about 13.5 acres) to our community, and it was regularised in 1933." He adds that he "has no clue about what is going to happen to our livelihoods. A free unit of 225 sq ft in a 7-storey building is inadequate as we are used to two dozen people living and working together in a larger area of 1,000 sq ft."

Chandra Shekhar Prabhu, ex-chairman, Maharashtra Housing and Area Development authority, and a critic of the project, contests the survey conducted by the state, which identified 77 per cent of the slum units in Dharavi as residential. In reality, as in Chauhan's case, almost 100 per cent of these houses also provide space for commercial activities. Prabhu feels "the 225 sq ft area, say on the fifth floor, will be of no use to someone who needs an open space to ripen 30 kilos of bananas daily."

Yet again, the DRP supporters are quick to point out the plan is based on detailed field studies and numerous surveys. Mehta says that people like Chauhan needn't be worried at all. "Kumbharwada has been kept out of the DRP, as these residents spurned our repeated efforts to include them in a discussion to jointly decide on a rehabilitation programme that could have actually adequately addressed their concerns." Moreover, he contends that this is among the rare slum redevelopment plans that will force the developers to provide infrastructure, including roads, drainage and water supply.Explains D.S. Malvankar, finance controller, slum rehabilitation agency, "For the first time, the scheme has been designed in a way that the allotment of the 35 per cent saleable land component to the developers will be conditional to the quality of infrastructure provided in the rehabilitation buildings." Also, it's mandatory for the builders to use eco-friendly materials and construct roads that are at least 100 feet wide.

But the DBS doesn't buy it. It says the residents will have to shell out Rs 450 as monthly maintenance. With municipal taxes, water and electricity charges, the figure will be Rs 1,500 per month. "An average Dharavi resident will never be able to afford this, he will be compelled to sell his flat and squat in a new slum," feels Prabhu. Critics also allege that the developer's profit calculated by the state, at Rs 4,574 crore, is ridiculous. The figure is based on a residential market price of Rs 4,000/sq ft. But, in the adjoining Bandra-Kurla Complex, commercial properties have sold for Rs 40,000/sq ft.

Clearly, the battle-lines are drawn in Dharavi. Dharavians vs the policymakers. Private builders vs the pro-left urban planning experts. Political parties vs the DBS. Dharavi's past vs its future.