By Dhwani Pandya
MUMBAI (Reuters) – A joint-venture led by billionaire Gautam Adani is struggling to safe land to rehabilitate poor residents of one in every of Asia’s largest slums in Mumbai, a authorities official mentioned, posing a contemporary problem for the formidable reconstruction plan.
The Dharavi slum, about three-quarters of the dimensions of New York’s Central Park, featured in Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning 2008 film “Slumdog Millionaire”. Its open sewers and shared bogs, near Mumbai’s worldwide airport, stand in distinction to India’s growth growth.
After profitable the $619 million bid final 12 months, Adani Group plans to transform the 240 hectare (594 acre) slum into a contemporary metropolis hub, nevertheless it has already confronted protests from opposition political events who say it obtained undue favours from the state authorities in awarding the contract. The group has denied the allegations.
Now there’s a new problem.
Solely those that lived in Dharavi earlier than the 12 months 2000 will get free houses within the redevelopment and quite a lot of the land wanted to rehabilitate folks – at the very least 580 acres for now – shall be to supply housing to the roughly 700,000 folks thought-about ineligible.
To construct houses for these ineligible folks, the Adani three way partnership utilized to varied native and federal businesses for extra land, however has but to safe any, SVR Srinivas, head of the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority, mentioned.
That is as a result of such authorities businesses have their very own plans for land they personal and are usually not keen to half with it, he added.
“In Mumbai, getting land is the toughest of things. Physically not a single inch of land has come to us,” mentioned Srinivas.
Requested if he was apprehensive that land acquisition delays will have an effect on the venture timeline, he mentioned: “Yes, without land, the project cannot take place, so that is a very critical factor for doing the project on time.”
The Adani Group, which holds a majority stake within the three way partnership with the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority, didn’t reply to an electronic mail searching for feedback.
The venture, which goals to rehouse one million folks, is a important and high-profile venture for Adani, who final 12 months confronted allegations of enterprise mismanagement and inventory manipulation in a scathing report by short-seller Hindenburg Analysis which he denied.
The venture began in March with a survey to find out eligibility and its backers are aiming to finish development in seven years.
Mumbai is one in every of India’s most costly actual property markets the place actual property costs are sky-high and land is scarce.
Adani’s group has acknowledged that rebuilding Dharavi introduced “colossal” challenges – although he has mentioned he hoped the realm in future would produce “millionaires without the slumdog prefix”.
