334 flats under Dharavi revamp lying vacant for over 15 years

Even as slum dwellers of Dharavi await redevelopment of their shanties to better structures, more than 330 flats measuring 225 square meters at Dharavi’s Shed Colony are lying vacant since the past 15 years. The flats were constructed by Shivshahi Punarvasan Prakalp Limited (SPPL) in 2002 for giving temporary accommodation to slum dwellers under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project.

The project is divided into five sectors of which the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will redevelop the fifth sector only. While the fifth sector revamp continues, the redevelopment of other four sectors is in a fix with no developer selected to complete the project. Attempts to tender out the project have repeatedly failed owing to stricter conditions and handling such a huge project.

Officials said that since the Dharavi Redevelopment project is still under the pipeline, these transit camps will be vacant until further directions from the state government.

Since the project of four sectors is stalled, the authority is unable to give temporary accommodation to eligible slum dwellers in under the redevelopment scheme. The authority has now decided to subdivide the four sectors into 12 different parts since tendering out smaller sections will be helpful to attract more participation in the project.

In all, the SPPL has constructed 421 homes, out of which 87 homes have been handed over to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to rehabilitate Project Affected People (PAP). The plot where these transit camps were constructed belonged to BMC. The SPPL constructed four such Ground+seven transit camps.

A senior official told FPJ, “Even though the 334 homes of transit camps were constructed in 2002, it was only in 2013 that they received a complete Occupancy Certificate from the corporation. The project cost for constructing these homes was Rs 20 crores.”

The Dharavi revamp will cost the authorities Rs 22,000 crore which will involve the rehabilitation of 55,000 families. The eligible beneficiaries will be rehabilitated to a 350-square feet apartment.