Dharavi residents have decided to intensify their agitation following the state Government’s plan to invite fresh bids for the redevelopment of the Asia’s largest slum.
The core team of the Dharavi Redevelopment Committee, a federation of 52 associations of residents, has already taken a decision to approach the court against the government’s stand, its President Raju Korde said.
“We are yet to receive an official communication from the Government, but if the state is rethinking about its decision, then we will intensify our agitation. We will be holding another meeting on September 3 with rest of the members to decide our next course of action,” he said.
Last year, former chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had sought state advocate general’s opinion on whether to go for retendering after the Govt purchased the 45 acre land parcel at Matunga which was to be included in the project. The opinion was sought after the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority, the special purpose vehicle appointed to implement the project had issued a letter of intent to Dubai-based Seclink Technologies Corporation, which was the Rs 7,500 crore, while the second bid from Adani was lower at Rs 4,529 crore.The AG had recommended inviting fresh bids for the project, which has already seen a delay of 16 years. According to reports, the government has accepted the recommendations of the Advocate General and is planning to invite fresh bids for the project. “We are unable to understand why the opinion (of AG) was sought when the land parcel in question was very much a part of the bid document. While bidding, we knew that the bidder will have to bear the cost of land acquisition, while the deal was to be sealed by the state and the railway authority. That is the reason why we had submitted a higher bid,” Seclink Group chairman and MD Nilang Shah said.