1 lakh rehabilitation tenements needed in Dharavi redevelopment
Dharavi will now need one lakh tenements for rehabilitation alone as against the earlier estimate of 58,000 tenements, said S V R Srinivas, principal secretary, Dharavi Redevelopment Project. The government’s promise to give homes to all those staying in slums up to a cut-off of January 1, 2011, is behind the jump in the number. However, all those living in slums post-2000 have to pay a transfer fee and are not eligible for free housing. At the moment, there are about 3.5 lakh residents in Dharavi. The redeveloped tenement size will be 350 sq ft. “There are dwellings that are not slums and residents of these areas, largely in sector 1, will get larger homes. Also, there are a few private plots within Dharavi which we need to acquire,” said Srinivas. Since 2004, the state government has been trying to redevelop the slum sprawl but with no success. This time it has decided to become a stakeholder in the project. It will form a special purpose vehicle with 20% equity and the balance 80% will be held by a private developer.
Tags : News/Views