As one of the largest slums in Asia, Dharavi has long represented the complex challenges of urban inequality, housing, and infrastructure in Mumbai. With this approval, the government aims to turn over a new chapter in Dharavi’s history, replacing congested, substandard living conditions with modern housing and urban amenities. While this may seem like a step in the right direction, the move is fraught with ecological and social complexities that cannot be ignored.

Dharavi’s Decades of Delay

Dharavi has been on the redevelopment radar for decades. Plans have come and gone, hindered by bureaucratic inertia, land ownership disputes, and the sheer scale of the undertaking. Home to nearly 700,000 people, Dharavi is more than a slum, it’s a self-contained economy with thousands of small businesses, tanneries, recycling units, and workshops that generate millions in annual turnover. Any attempt to “redevelop” it must reckon with the physical and emotional geography of the space, not just its infrastructure.

Fun Fact: Dharavi is not just one of Asia’s largest slums, it’s also a mini city within a city. Despite its cramped space, it houses over 700,000 people and has a literacy rate of around 69%, higher than many would expect. It’s also famous worldwide for its handmade leather goods, which are exported to Europe and the U.S.!

Mumbai is notoriously land-scarce. Vertical growth has been the norm, but accommodating a large number of Dharavi’s residents, especially those not meeting the eligibility criteria for free rehabilitation, requires additional land. That’s where the salt pan lands come in. The 256 acres, spread across areas like Kanjurmarg, Bhandup, and Mulund, are intended to house the "ineligible" population: those who settled after 2000 and are not covered under the official rehabilitation plan. This decision offers logistical breathing room and prevents the burden of displacement from falling entirely on vulnerable communities. At the heart of the DRP is Adani Realty, holding an 80% stake in the special-purpose vehicle, Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt Ltd. The plan is to complete the rehabilitation in a seven-year time frame, transforming not just the physical environment but also the economic and social ecosystem of Dharavi. However, in trying to solve one problem, are we creating others?

Environmental Alarms

Salt pan lands are not barren wastelands awaiting repurposing. They are ecologically sensitive zones that support local biodiversity, help recharge groundwater, and act as natural buffers against flooding. Mumbai, a city that floods regularly during the monsoon season, owes much of its fragile environmental balance to these natural sponges.

Environmentalists argue that turning these lands into residential complexes could have long-term consequences. Encroachments and real estate overdevelopment have already compromised the city’s drainage system, and this project may further weaken what little natural safeguards remain. While the government insists that it will respect environmental regulations, the record of urban development in Mumbai leaves little room for blind faith.

If the city sacrifices its ecological integrity in the name of development, we may be setting ourselves up for future disasters that will again hit the urban poor the hardest.

Who Gets Left Behind?

Perhaps the most contentious aspect of the DRP is its rehabilitation policy. Only residents who can prove they lived in Dharavi before the year 2000 are eligible for free housing. That excludes a huge chunk of the current population. Many have lived there for over two decades but lack official documents due to the informal nature of settlements. Others, including migrant workers and tenants, face the risk of being left out entirely.

What happens to these people? The government plans to relocate them to the newly sanctioned salt pan lands. But questions abound: Will they be adequately compensated? Will these homes be affordable, or will they be pushed into rental schemes with long-term financial obligations? Will their livelihoods be preserved, or will they be displaced to remote corners of the city, far from work and social networks?

Without clear answers, the fear is that this redevelopment could become an exercise in gentrification—clearing slums to make way for commercial real estate while pushing the poor further into the margins.

A Chance for Redemption or Repetition?

There’s no denying that Dharavi needs redevelopment. Its infrastructure is crumbling, hygiene and sanitation are subpar, and the risk of health crises remains constant. The status quo is unsustainable. But change must be rooted in justice, inclusivity, and sustainability.

The salt pan land allocation is a logistical win, but it must not become a symbolic one that glosses over deeper systemic issues. This project has the potential to become a model of humane urban planning or another case study in displacement and ecological damage.

The Way Forward:

Urban planning must evolve to balance expansion with empathy. Dharavi's redevelopment can set a global example if inclusivity, ecological sustainability, and community engagement become core principles. It’s not just a local project, it’s a blueprint for equitable growth in the cities of tomorrow.

Conclusion: Development with Dignity

As Mumbai marches toward a more “developed” future, it must ask what kind of development it seeks. Is it one that paves over natural habitats and uproots communities? Or is it one that lifts people without losing sight of their history, their environment, and their humanity?

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project, bolstered by this recent land approval, is a moment of reckoning. It’s a chance to show that urban growth doesn’t have to come at the cost of justice. The government, developers, and civil society must work together to ensure that the promise of transformation doesn’t become a story of exclusion.

This isn’t just about land. It’s about lives.

It is a rare opportunity to right historical neglect by building not just new homes but resilient, inclusive communities. The success of this project will lie not in glossy buildings but in how deeply it honors the people it promises to serve. 

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