Dharavi, Adani development project becomes rallying point for opposition in Maharashtra

Aerial view of Dharavi. The MVA pointed out that some decisions of the Mahayuti government ‘favored’ the Adani Group Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

Ahead of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, industrialist Gautam Adani and the Dharavi development project in Asia’s largest slum cluster have become a rallying point for the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

While the Congress called the project a ‘Modani business’, the Shiv Sena (UBT) held street protests and media events on the issue. The MVA allies have cited the recent decisions of the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government as ‘favoring’ the Adani Group and furthering the ‘Modani’ agenda.

In mid-September, the group won a long-term contract to supply 6,600 MW of combined renewable and thermal power to Maharashtra after its bid of R4.08 per unit outbid rivals. On 30 September, the Cabinet approved the use of 255 hectares of salt land in Mumbai to accommodate residents affected by the Dharavi slum rehabilitation project.

Earlier in September, the Center approved the transfer of salt pan land to Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt. Ltd (DRPPL), a joint venture between Adani Realty Group and the Maharashtra government.

“Is Adani a national saint now? Will everyone sing their songs? When Modi says ‘one nation, one election’, he means ‘one nation, one contractor’. And that means a contractor he likes,” Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said recently in Nagpur, the city where the RSS is headquartered.

Elsewhere, he announced that his party would reject the tender for the Dharavi project after coming to power. “The government should give an answer as to why it should not be abolished now itself. We will not allow Mumbai to be turned into an Adani city,” he said.

Street protests

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has been saying that improper permission was given to the Adani Group for the project. While it had held a massive protest in Dharavi in ​​the past demanding rehabilitation of the project-affected people, the Congress had recently taken to the streets in Bharatnagar in Bandra over the question of the project’s slum demolition.

The Congress also accused Mr Adani of grabbing lucrative land parcels in the name of redevelopment. “Adani does not like the people of Dharavi. He loves the land of Dharavi. He wants to do BKC [Bandra Kurla Complex] add there,” said Mumbai North Central party MP Varsha Gaikwad, talking about its transformation into a commercial hub.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also criticized the Maharashtra government for the salty environment.

“These salt pans act as a sponge to absorb excess water during Mumbai’s heavy rains and ensure flood protection. The city’s long-term future is being sacrificed at the altar of Modani’s endless greed. Reconstruction here is against the wishes of the Dharavikars who are pursuing immigration…,” he had tweeted.