Dharavi redevelopment plan interests only one bidder

There seem to be no takers for the state government’s ambitious Rs 22,000-crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). With only one developer coming forward to rebuild Asia’s largest slum, the state government has been forced to extend the bidding dates for its global tenders until January 8. The original bidding deadline was December 28. First conceived in 2003, the DRP has been on every party’s agenda during every election. It was also one of Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis’s key poll promises when he came to power in 2014. An attempt to float tenders was made in 2016 with the plan to divide the sprawling 200-acre slum into 12 sub-clusters for phased redevelopment. It was, however, scrapped and the decision to redevelop it as a whole was taken by the state cabinet in October 2018. According to the new plan, over 70,000 flats are to be constructed over an area of 80 acres to rehabilitate 55,000 families. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) was set up with private parties as lead partners and DRP as minority partner with just 20 per cent stake.