Dharavi Redevelopment: Maharashtra Govt Hands Over 118 Acres in Malad for Resident Rehabilitation

The Maharashtra Government has handed over possession of a 118-acre land parcel at Mukteshwar in Malad-Malvani area of Mumbai to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP), as confirmed by Mumbai Suburban District Collector, Saurabh Katiyar. This transfer is a significant step in the ongoing efforts to rehabilitate Dharavi residents.

According to the plan, the site at Malad will be used to house Dharavi residents who are not eligible for in-situ rehabilitation within Dharavi, sources said. The Dharavi Redevelopment Project is being undertaken by the Adani Group's Navbharat Mega Developers Pvt Ltd (NMDL), in which the Maharashtra government also has a stake. The ownership of the Malad land will remain with the SRA, while the Adani Group's special-purpose vehicle (SPV), NMDPL, will hold the development rights.

The total value of the 118-acre land is estimated at around ₹540 crore. NMDPL has paid ₹135 crore as a premium towards development rights on the 118-acre land parcel. “Of the 140 acres earmarked at Mukteshwar, 118 acres have now been handed over, while 22 acres still remain under litigation,” sources said.

The site at Malad will be used to house Dharavi residents who are not eligible for in-situ rehabilitation within Dharavi. The plot will rehabilitate residents residing on the upper floor and those who settled in Dharavi after January 1, 2011, and before November 15, 2022. In addition, a portion of the plot will be used by the Adani Group to construct apartments under the sale component for sale in the open market, sources said.

Overall, the state has identified and allocated about 540 acres of land parcels within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) for affordable housing as part of the Dharavi redevelopment project. These include land at Kurla, salt pan lands at Kanjur, Bhandup and Mulund, and portions at the Deonar dumping ground, to facilitate large-scale rehabilitation.

According to officials, about 1.25-1.5 lakh new homes will be constructed to rehabilitate about 10 lakh residents of Dharavi. As per Maharashtra’s Slum Rehabilitation Act, each eligible resident of Dharavi will receive one rehabilitation unit, regardless of the number of tenements they own. These units will be 350 sq. ft. in size—an upgrade from the 300 sq. ft. units provided in other slum redevelopment projects.

Residents deemed ineligible for rehabilitation within Dharavi will be relocated to rental housing complexes outside the area under a hire-purchase arrangement. The Adani Group emerged as the winning bidder for the project in November 2022, pledging an initial investment of ₹5,069 crore to kickstart the long-awaited transformation of one of Asia’s largest slum clusters.

The Adani Group's SPV Navbharat Mega Developers Private Limited (NMDPL) is a joint venture between the Government of Maharashtra and the Adani Group, which is executing the project. It is also known as ‘the largest urban rejuvenation project in the world’ and ‘the first step towards making Mumbai slum-free.’ NMDPL has a 7-year deadline to construct the homes required for rehabilitation, while the government has set an overall 17-year timeline to complete the full redevelopment of Dharavi.