Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said that if his party comes to power after the Maharashtra Assembly elections, his government will cancel the bidding for the Dharavi slum redevelopment project in Mumbai.
Speaking at a press conference, Uddhav Thackeray opposed the incentives being provided to the Dharavi redevelopment project and said, “We will not allow it.”
“Is this Dharavi redevelopment or is it a ‘Lakka Mitra Yojna’ (favourite friend scheme),” Uddhav Thackeray said, adding, “We will not give any additional facility and will seek fresh tenders, if required, after coming to power.”
The multi-crore rupee Dharavi slum redevelopment project will see land handed over to Maharashtra state government departments, not to the Adani group. The Ahmedabad-based conglomerate will be the project developer and will build the houses that will be handed over to the departments for allocation to residents of Asia’s largest slum, news agency PTI reported earlier.
Earlier this month, Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly about the Revenue Department’s budget demand, called the Dharavi slum redevelopment plan a “big scam” and demanded the Maharashtra government submit a white paper on the plan.
Chavan said the entire project would be halted if there was a change of government after the state assembly elections scheduled for October.
Dharavi is Mumbai’s largest slum. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi Party’s BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) are opposed to the Adani Group’s multi-billion dollar redevelopment plan for the area.
“The Dharavi redevelopment project is a big scam and the state government should come out with a white paper, else the entire project will be scrapped when the next government comes to power in October,” Chavan said.
The former Chief Minister asked whether the recent handover of dairy land in Kurla for the Dharavi redevelopment project had been mentioned in the original tender. There was no mention at all of which government land would be handed over for Dharavi redevelopment – be it Deonar, Mulund or salt pans – he said.
“There should be an investigation into the extent to which government revenue is being lost,” he said. He alleged that government land was being given to businessmen at very low prices and all revenue due to the government was being foregone.
Later, Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil assured that a white paper on the Dharavi project would be released, which he said would also include details of the bidding process.
