‘Want development but not at the cost of our lives’: Why Dharavi rehabilitation is leading to fear

Mohan Lal Jain, a 71-year-old material scrap dealer, has been living in Dharavi, a Mumbai neighbourhood, for nearly five decades. Years ago, his shop was demolished to make way for a water pipeline.

As compensation, he was offered a shop in Kandivali, almost 23 kilometres away. But hasn’t been making any profits. And now he fears the situation with his earlier shop will repeat as officials have marked his Kandivali shop with a unique number under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project.

“There is a lot of uncertainty and a lack of clarity regarding the rehabilitation,” Jain says. “I still don’t know if I will have my livelihood or not. My house hasn’t been surveyed yet. I live in a flat, but I am unsure if my wife and I will even have a roof above us.”

In 2024, the Maharashtra government unveiled an ambitious plan to transform Dharavi’s 620 acres into a modern urban hub. The project is being executed by Navabharat Mega Developers Private Limited, a joint venture between the government’s Slum Rehabilitation Authority and the Adani Group’s Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited.

While the plan promises formal housing for eligible residents and commercial opportunities for developers, it leaves out around 50,000 to 100,000 residents, labelled “ineligible” for...

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