Over the weekend, thousands of protestors, led by various opposition parties, demonstrated outside the Mumbai offices of the Adani Group, a conglomerate owned by billionaire Gautam Adani. The objection focused on the organization’s proposed $614 million redevelopment plans for one of the city’s largest slums. The protest revolved around a series of demands by those opposing the redevelopment project.
The main contention points include a cry for both eligible and non-eligible residents of the slum to be housed within the reestablished area. They also seek increased living quarters, with a preference for 500 square feet instead of the proposed 300-350 sq ft, and for the government to assume control of the slum overhaul rather than private developers like Adani. These points were expressed by Baburao Mane, leader of Save Dharavi Committee (Dharavi Bachao Andolan), who emphasized that while they are not against development, the current plan benefits only Adani and not the slum residents. Mane’s full statement can be found here.
It should be noted that in last November, the Adani group won the Dharavi redevelopment project with a ₹5,069 crore bid. The Maharashtra government approved the proposal to rehabilitate Mumbai’s 590-acre Dharavi area, home to over 900,000 Indians, this year.
However, a Dubai-based bidder filed a judicial challenge to the awarding of the project, arguing that the Maharashtra government improperly terminated an original 2018 tender for slum remediation and favored Adani in awarding the new contract. Both Adani and the BJP government, vehemently deny the allegations, asserting that the contracts were lawfully allocated. They argue that it was the previous MVA government that signed the agreement with Adani. Regarding these allegations, the authorities released a statement that can be found here.
Adding another layer to the controversy, the Supreme Court of India has ordered an investigation into the Adani Group following separate allegations of business malpractice earlier this year.
Uddhav Thackeray, one of the protest leaders, described this project as “the biggest Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) scam of the world.” He also stated, “Adani is getting TDR of Rs 1 crore, which means his next generations can also live peacefully without working. So much is the TDR that the government is gifting them.” This remark further exemplifies the profound concern and opposition to Adani’s redevelopment plans and finalizes an atmosphere of conflict surrounding these developments.
The full coverage of this unfolding situation can be found at this location. As Mumbai’s slum redevelopment plans continue to stir controversy, these protests act as a testament to the growing resistance.