'Biggest loot in modern India continues': Congress on Dharavi project

The Congress on Sunday made a statement on the Dharavi project and said that biggest loot in modern India continues a PTI news report saidThe Congress slammed the government over the Dharavi redevelopment project being given to the Adani group saying this is an example of how the conglomerate is getting enriched at the expense of people the PTI reportedThe Congress attack came a day after a protest was held in Mumbai against the Dharavi redevelopment project being helmed by the Adani group It said the biggest loot in modern India continues in full public gaze with the complete support of the ruling partyFormer Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has alleged it was the worlds biggest Transfer of Development Rights TDR scamIn a statement Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that the unique quality of the Modani Mega Scam is not just that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is channeling lakhs of crores towards his close friends and creating a ModiMade Monopoly 3M but that the money is coming straight from the pockets of ordinary Indians a PTI news report said on SundayWe already know that the inflated cost of overinvoiced coal imports is being borne by lakhs of electricity consumers and that middleclass travellers are paying Modanis inflated airport charges he said according to PTIThe Congress has been attacking the Adani Group accusing it of wrongly benefitting from the BJP government The party has been demanding a joint parliamentary committee probe into the allegations of stock manipulation made by US research group HindenburgThe business conglomerate has denied any wrongdoing on its partAccording to the PTI Jairam Ramesh said it is now becoming even more clear that the true beneficiary of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project are not the people of Mumbai or of Dharavi but the PMs closest friend aided and abetted by Devendra FadnavisDespite official and unofficial claims the reality is that the Dharavi project will result in the Adani conglomerate being given a mammoth 105 crore square feet of real estate Transferable Development Rights TDR equivalent to 67 times the area of Dharavi the Congress leader claimedHe said this has been presented in a detailed study by the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee President and Dharavi MLA Varsha GaekwadTDR is a transferable credit that allows builders who use land for instance in approved slum development projects to be compensated with extra construction rights in other areas Jairam Ramesh pointed outWe have previously asked the PM to explain how the Adani conglomerate came to win the lucrative Dharavi project after an earlier tender won by a different developer was cancelled and rebid In the earlier tender the developer was offered a TDR equivalent to 5 crore square feet but this has now jumped by 11037 which could give the Adani conglomerate a profit margin as high as 434 per cent Jairam Ramesh saidThese supernormal profits have been enabled by Devendra Fadnavis modifications of Development Control Regulations on 5 November 2018 and 28 September 2022 that have the effect of handing the Adani conglomerate a huge TDR bank he allegedBy doing away with indexation these government resolutions give the Adani conglomerate the freedom to sell TDR anywhere in Mumbai including south and central Mumbai and that too at much higher rates than previously allowed Jairam Ramesh claimedAll Mumbai developers will now be compelled to buy 40 per cent of their TDR requirement from the Adani conglomerate at exorbitant rates he saidNoting that Dharavi is a very diverse thriving community of seven lakh people that represents a miniIndia Ramesh said it has a large number of small independent businesses that generate an estimated Rs 100 crore in annual income to the governmentYet documents show that most of these people will be evicted out and only 54461 slum dwellers and 9522 residents in chawls and buildings will receive a rehabilitation home within Dharavi the Congress leader saidFurthermore there has been no independent citywide assessment of what impact the creation of this mammoth TDR will have on Mumbai in a contravention of prevailing rules and court orders he saidThis lucrative revdi for the Adani conglomerate could have a huge negative impact on the quality of life in Mumbai for rich and poor alike And the people are well aware of this a protest against this MegaScam was held on December 16th led by senior leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and attended by thousands of Dharavi residents Jairam Ramesh saidThis is yet another example of how Modani is getting enriched at the expense of the people of India And a reminder of how the biggest loot in modern India continues in full public gaze with the complete support of the PM and the ruling party Ramesh said in his statementThe Dharavi Redevelopment Project on Saturday said the Dharavi slum redevelopment project was awarded to it by the previous CongressShiv Sena coalition government Maha Vikas Aghadi or MVA through a fair and open international biddingIn a statement a spokesperson of Adanis Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd DRPPL had said financial conditions including the obligations and incentives were known to all bidders and had not changed for the awardeewith PTI inputs