Maharashtra Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil on Tuesday announced that the state government will release a “white paper” on the land given to Adani Realty. Dharavi Redevelopment Project.
His response came after a similar demand was also raised by Indian National Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who had termed Mumbai’s Dharavi slum redevelopment project a “big scam” and demanded a white paper on it from the state government.
“The Dharavi redevelopment project is a big scam and the state government should come out with a white paper, otherwise the entire project will be scrapped when the next government comes to power in October,” Chavan said in the Maharashtra Assembly, referring to the revenue department’s budget demand.
Chavan also asked whether the recent handover of dairy land in Kurla for the Dharavi redevelopment project had been mentioned in the original tender. 21 acres of land belonging to the Dairy Development Board on the outskirts of Kurla was recently handed over for a detailed project report.
Replying to Chavan, Vikhe Patil said due process had been followed. Land transfer“It was about dairy development and was transferred to the Revenue Department and from there to the redevelopment project. I am not with the department undertaking the project so I cannot say whether it was part of the original tender or not. The minister in charge should answer that,” he said.
Chief Minister Vikhe Patil concluded his speech by saying that if necessary, the government is not afraid to release a White Paper on the Dharavi redevelopment plan. Chavan stood up and asked if the White Paper would be released before the elections. “We will release a White Paper before the elections and we can release it even after the elections because we will be in power again,” said Chief Minister Vikhe Patil.
The 2.8-square-kilometer Dharavi slum is home to informal leather and pottery industries that employ more than 100,000 people, and the government envisioned turning it into a high-rise agglomeration by improving urban infrastructure.
The project required the relocation of 68,000 people, including slum dwellers and commercial employees. In November 2022, Adani Realty won the project after offering Rs 5,069 crore in a bidding process.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi Party’s BJP allies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena (UBT) are opposed to the multi-billion dollar Dharavi redevelopment project being undertaken by the Adani Group.
© Indian Express Ltd.
First uploaded: 07 Sep 2024 19:36 IST
