Dharavi to soon beat mega cities in realty valuation

There is a new buzz around Dharavi, in the heart of Mumbai, as the state government and real estate developers brace themselves to chisel its 144 hectares to suit the city's aspiration as a global financial centre.

The project is estimated to produce 5 million square feet of new office and residential space in the near term and a humongous 40 million square feet over seven years. This will inevitably pull down real estate prices in a city that ranks among the world's most expensive.

In Bandra-Kurla Complex, adjacent to Dharavi, the rate per square feet is as high as Rs 30,000 - more than the rates in the world's mega cities like Singapore and Hong Kong. Real estate developers attribute the high rates to government laws that have relegated half of the city to life in slums.

"It is a shame for the country that Dharavi is known as Asia's largest slum," says Niranjan Hiranandani, a land developer. "This project will increase supply of much-needed commercial space...Although prices may not come down drastically, the huge volume of new space will be good for the city."

Agrees property consultancy Knight Frank's chairman Pranay Vakil: "The new land supply, right next to the business district of Bandra-Kurla Complex, is really huge."

Mukesh Mehta, architect of the Dharavi redevelopment project, promises that the project will change the landscape of the country's financial capital - which many regard as a shanty town - and raise living standards.

"This area will become the socio-economic, educational and cultural hub of Mumbai," he says.

Corporate India supports the project. Office bearers of Bombay First, an initiative of corporate India to raise living standards in the city, say the redevelopment should include the opinion of the locals. "The project should not end up being a law-and-order problem or be perceived as pro-developer and anti-people," says Vijay Mahajan, CEO of Bombay First.

"What we are looking for is a win-win deal for all stakeholders."

However, not everyone shares the rapture of those who have drawn up the Rs 9,430 crore (Rs 94.3 billion) plan.

For Ram Prajapati, a 53-year-old potter living in Asia's largest slum, life is about to change forever. As the developers' ambitions soar, Prajapati's tenement will be among those pulled down to make way for multi-storey buildings. He is entitled to a free house, but that is not balm enough for the loss of livelihood.

"What will we do with these small 225-square feet houses? If my income source vanishes, where shall I go?" he asks.Going by the fierce opposition of the locals to the plan, Prajapati speaks for many of the 600,000 living in Dharavi's 57,000 illegal huts that have come up over the years on government land.

Ever since the state government invited offers from developers for the project, the opposition against it has increased. The agitation is led by non-government organisations and representatives of commercial units that occupy about half of Dharavi.

Says Arputham Jockin, the convenor of Dharavi Sector Virodhi Andolan: "According to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority rules, the state can go ahead with rehabilitation only if 70 per cent of the slum dwellers give their consent." Surely, Prajapati will not be among them.