Candidates butt heads over Dharavi redevelopment; residents seek clarity

Once labelled Asiarsquos largest slum Dharavi has seen a vertical split since the Maharashtra governmentrsquos Dharavi Redevelopment Project began here a few years ago Many residing in this hub of smallscale businesses selfsustaining manufacturers and skilled and unskilled labourers are insecure and fearful about losing their homes while the prospect of growth is a cause for hope in othersIn 2022 as a part of the Dharavi cluster redevelopment project the Gautam Adaniled Adani Realty won a tender worth R20000 crore to transform 259 hectares of land into a ldquoworldclass townshiprdquo and formed a special purpose vehicle SPV the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd DRPPL in an agreement with the existent Maharashtra government body the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority under the statersquos Slum Rehabilitation Authority SRAAs the project began one of the main contentions was that housesstructures that came up after the year 2000 were not eligible Another was that of losing the ecosystem many others felt it would uproot them while the few eligible for new homes in Dharavi itself were cheerful about it The growing confusion has given politicians ammunition This split is now being exploited by social and political activists to their benefit with Dharavi becoming a citywide burning issueThe main contenders of the Dharavi constituency are Congressrsquos Dr Jyoti Eknath Gaikwad sister of Mumbai North Central MP Varsha Gaikwad and Shinde Senarsquos social worker and activist Rajesh Shivdas Khandare While Gaikwad has been harshly criticising the Dharavi Redevelopment Project and elaborating on how the land has been sold to a businessman Khandare has been targeting the Congress candidate criticising ldquodynasty politicsrdquo while mentioning her late father and sisterrsquos political careers He claimed it was the Gaikwad family that first proposed the Dharavi redevelopment issue 25 years ago and never took it ahead In the Dharavi constituency Congressrsquos Varsha Gaikwad served as MLA for four consecutive terms from 2004 to 2019 Now that she has moved to the Lok Sabha her sister an ayurvedic doctor and head of the anatomy department of Sion Ayurved Mahavidyalaya as per her official social media account is being fielded in her place Khandare has questioned Dr Jyotirsquos absence in Dharavi during the pandemic when she was required the mostResidents in turn clouded by the onslaught of relentless campaigns have no clarity on the issue600Area of Dharavi in acresDr Jyoti Eknath Gaikwad CongressWhat will remain your main focus on the issues plaguing DharaviThe government has a wicked plan to hand over land to a builder in the name of redevelopment The plan is about Dharavi Vinaash not Dharavi Vikas My main focus will remain to protect the people of Dharavi from this socalled redevelopment projectBut Dharavi residents have been living in pathetic conditionsWe are not against Dharavi redevelopment it is the way that it is being implemented that is questionable Huge plots in areas like Kurla Mulund and Bhandup in nodevelopment zones like salt pan land and dumping ground are being handed over to the builder It is about the redevelopment of the builder not Dharavi residents The redevelopment of Dharavi should be done by keeping the people here sectorwise and not by destroying the entire ecosystemWhat about the state of roads pedestrian footpaths lastmile connectivity and other public InfrastructureDharavi has been suffering due to poor infrastructure We have been working in the area and most of the problems of poor civic maintenance that we find due to the absence of BMC We try to help but that is only till a limit The election of a fulltime corporator for the area is most importantWater supply is a growing issue for MumbaiThe water issue is grave and in Dharavi there is no regular supply There are major problems like contamination issues too which need to be addressed There is a need to lay dedicated pipelines and improve and upgrade the old existing ones When elected I will take up the water issueWhat about high air pollution levels and a general lack of green spacesThe government is out to finish the delicate balance of nature They have allocated salt pan land for rehabilitating people affected by redevelopment There will be environmental disaster and doom if salt pan land is filled with people We need to stop all such attempts and save the city from such a devastating planRajesh Shivdas Khandare Shiv Sena Eknath ShindeWhat is your take on the redevelopment of DharaviThe Dharavi redevelopment project was first mooted by the Gaikwad family about 25 years ago All these years they were in power and the project just remained on paper Ask them why they remained silent A family of outsiders nonresidents of Dharavi has been ruling here and what stopped them from redeveloping it Now that the development has started it has made them insecureWhat about the sorry state of Dharavirsquos public infrastructureDharavi is a living hell I was born and brought up here and lived in an 8x8sqft room I know life here There are no roads no infrastructure and no life Who has been getting elected here Only people from a single family Ask them what they have done in so many years The Shinde government has built a Coastal Road sea link and even a Metro station in Dharavi The growth has been unprecedented The Opposition is saying there are ineligible residents When they themselves had done a survey of people staying here in 2002 they had given a figure of 61000 residents Now there are 15 lakh How has the number gone up who is responsible It is because of them who turned a blind eye to encroachers and allowed anyone to build anywhere in DharaviWhat about the arearsquos water supply issuesDharavi residents drink recycled water The issue is not just about water but the overall influx and growing populationAnd pollutionDharavi is the hotbed of pollution and people here are mostly workers We have a candidate who is a doctor Where was she when we Dharavikars needed her the most during the lockdown and pandemic That time a doctor would have helped us in a big way and given relief No one was seen at that time