Dharavi Redevelopment: Five salient features of the ongoing study and the master plan

By Bricksnwall | 2025-03-02

Dharavi Redevelopment: Within a month, the eagerly awaited master plan for the Dharavi project should be completed. 

As authorities perform surveys for the redevelopment and rehabilitation of one of the largest slum clusters in the world, the eagerly awaited master plan for the Dharavi redevelopment project is projected to be completed within a month.

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project's CEO, SVR Srinivas, informed reporters on February 27 that the project is expected to cost about ₹3 lakh crore. In the upcoming months, efforts will be made to finalize the survey results and the master plan.

These are the five main ways that Mumbai's Dharavi rehabilitation and redevelopment will be influenced by the Master Plan and the current survey.

1. What is the Master Plan for Dharavi?

Of the 600 acres that make up Dharavi, 296 acres are set aside for redevelopment. Renowned architect Hafeez Contractor was hired in January 2024 by Navbharat Mega Developers Private Limited (NMDPL), a joint venture between the Adani Group and the Government of Maharashtra, to oversee the massive Dharavi rehabilitation project, which intends to restore 0.7 million residents.

The Master Plan, which integrates residential, commercial, and industrial spaces both inside and beyond the neighborhood, will provide as a blueprint for the restoration of Dharavi's estimated one million citizens.

2. Why is the master plan for Dharavi necessary?

Officials estimate that NMDPL will spend more over ₹25,000 crore on the rehabilitation of around a million Dharavi residents. This includes organizing the rehabilitation of suitable tenements in commercial, industrial, and residential structures.

The infrastructure required to sustain both eligible and non-eligible tenements must also be developed by the authorities. This extensive reconstruction project will be planned and carried out according to the Master Plan, which will act as a strategic roadmap.

3. How will tenements be classified as eligible or ineligible?

Srinivas claims that the authorities are currently conducting a study of Dharavi's citizens and anticipate finishing it in the upcoming months.

According to Srinivas, more than 80,000 tenements have been numbered and more than 50,000 tenements have been surveyed.

At least the numbering will be finished, and the survey will also be finished in the upcoming months, he stated on February 27. "We had a target to complete the survey by March, but that now looks difficult," he said.

4. How Much Building Is Scheduled for the Redevelopment of Dharavi?

The Dharavi redevelopment project intends to build 14 crore square feet of saleable property and 10 crore square feet of rehabilitation structures, according to a Hindustan Times report.

Building rehabilitation units will get an estimated investment of ₹25,000 crore. Nearly ₹2,000 crore of the ₹3 lakh crore total estimated expenditure has already been invested, and the board of NMDPL has approved a further ₹2,000 crore for future development.

5. How will the rehabilitation plan benefit the people of Dharavi?

No matter how many tenements they possess, every eligible Dharavi inhabitant will receive one rehabilitation unit under Maharashtra's Slum Rehabilitation Act. Compared to the 300 square foot units offered in other slum restoration initiatives, these units will be larger at 350 square feet.

In Dharavi, those who are judged ineligible for rehabilitation will be moved under a hire-purchase agreement to rental housing complexes outside the city.

Source: Hindustan Times