Dharavi: High-rise Eviction

The Maharashtra government, in its advertisement inviting global expressions of interest for the Dharavi Slum Redevelopment Plan published on May 30, 2007, calls it “The Opportunity of the Millennium”. In fact, the plan, the way it was conceived and its implementation represent a great opportunity missed in arriving at a democratic and consensual way of redeveloping not just Dharavi but all of Mumbai’s burgeoning slums.

The plan to redevelop Dharavi, often called Asia’s largest slum, has been in the pipeline for the last five years. It envisages the creation of a new “township” in place of the densely packed series of contiguous settlements, located in a heart-shaped area, at the northernmost point of where the island city of Mumbai ends. The plan speaks of a “world class cultural, knowledge, business and health centre”.