Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday demanded an assurance from the Maharashtra government that the new buildings constructed under the Dharavi redevelopment project will be allocated to the local residents.
He further added that the Maharashtra government will not be able to evict the Dharavikars from here.
Addressing the Dharavi Bachao Andolan, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “They will not be able to evict our Dharavikars from here and that is why all of us (MVA) have come here. I assure you that under no circumstances will we let them touch the Dharavikars. Redevelopment is necessary but redevelopment of Dharavi is necessary… We need this confidence from the government that the buildings being constructed here will belong to the Dharavikars.”
In early July, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray criticised the assignment of redevelopment of Dharavi to Gautam Adani and said his party would not allow Mumbai to lose its identity and turn into “Adani City”.
“During Manmohan Ji’s government, Gift City came here, we welcomed it. Modi Ji brought Gift City to Gujarat. Now we are giving Gift City to Gujarat and Adani City to Maharashtra. We will not allow that. The identity that Mumbai has will remain in Mumbai, we will not allow it to turn into Adani City,” he said.
The Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRPPL), a joint venture of the Adani Group and the Government of Maharashtra, announced that eligible housing colonies in Dharavi will get apartments with separate kitchens and toilets and a floor area of ​​at least 350 square feet – a whopping 17 percent increase and the highest among slum redevelopment projects in Mumbai.
Earlier, residents of informal settlements in Maharashtra were provided with houses with a floor area of ​​269 sq. ft. Since 2018, the state government has been providing them with houses with a floor area between 315 and 322 sq. ft. This is the minimum area prescribed for houses for the urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.