Dharavi Redevelopment: Mulund Residents Oppose Adani's Proposed Resettlement Project

A proposed rental housing project for ineligible residents of the Dharavi redevelopment project has triggered concerns among residents of Mulund. Residents fear the project will overburden their already strained infrastructure and adversely impact the local real estate market.

A January 10 letter from the housing ministry requesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to release 64 acres of land in Mulund East for the project has fueled the anxiety. The plan to accommodate 3-4 lakh people, nearly double the existing population of Mulund East, has residents worried about the impact on infrastructure and essential services like transportation, electricity, and water.

A Mulund resident and Lawyer Sagar Devre expressed his concern in a letter to the State government and Municipal commissioner of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and also appealed to fellow residents to oppose the project. Devre said, "3 to 4 lakh people think of the burden on infrastructure.  We haven't been consulted about this project, and there's no clarity on whether this arrangement is temporary or permanent. Besides as per regulation the rehabilitation should be done within the Dharavi Notified Area or nearby area and that too within 10 km, Where is Mulund and where is Dharavi. "

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL), a joint venture between the Adani Group and the Maharashtra government, has requested for rental housing to accommodate 3-4 lakh "ineligible" residents from Dharavi. The request, sent in a letter to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on January 10, 2024, seeks 46 acres of land in Mulund East and an additional 18 acres of octroi land.

Residents also feel burdened by the additional responsibility, pointing out that Mulund East already accommodated Project Affected Persons (PAPs) from the Goregaon Mulund Link Road project.

A resident of Mulund and a small-scale developer Ajit Karandikar has vehemently opposed the proposed plan. He said "This step will be the death of Mulund. Think of the infrastructure, the influx of residents will paralyze essential services like transportation, electricity, and water. The concept of town planning of BMC has just become a mere term for them, there is no proper assessment or review, blindly implementing the projects. Also, why Dharavi's ineligible residents can't be rehabilitated in Dharavi itself, why do they need Mulund? They will commercialise Dharavi and uproot families staying for ages in the area and throw in Mulund."

Karandikar also mentioned he had lost hope, last time with PAP's government did not listen to the Mulund people and went ahead with its plan. "The government is not even thinking of other alternatives for scattering families, the entire cluster is dumped at one location, and there is no strategic planning for rehabilitation. Ministers should raise these questions in parliament, alone writing letters about what will do," added Karandikar.

Furthermore, the project will negatively impact the local real estate market. With the influx of people, the demand and price will decrease. "Not only Mulund residents will be impacted but the real estate market will suffer too. People will prefer good locality even if flat rates are high. Currently, the Mulund East area has a Mhada colony so prices are already less there. If similar projects are implemented the prices are going to dip. The mentality is going to play a larger role. Believe it or not, the sentiment of the market will go different side. People still prefer staying with certain people in a particular locality. This will further contribute to people's choice of purchasing or renting a house in Mulund." said Sandeep Autkar, D2h Property, a real estate agency in Mulund.

Earlier BJP's former MP Kirit Somaiya also wrote a letter urging to withdraw/clarify the letter. Meanwhile, Devre is also planning to hold meetings to discuss further action to oppose this proposal. 

Kirit Somaiya met the officers in charge and spoke about the issue. He said, “officers told me Mulund is one of the prospective places among 4 which they short listed for rehabilitation of ineligible residents. Nothing is yet final, the letter is just sent to BMC and no further decision have been made in the matter.”