Makeover of Asia's largest Slum

Dharavi, with an unsavory reputation of being Asia's biggest and filthiest slum, is all set for a major transformation to a green and vibrant suburb with modern infrastructure and amenities. Long written off as being beyond any development, given the impossibly huge numbers crammed into scores of ramshackle tenements in a slum that lacks even a basic water supply and toilet facilities, Dharavi's fortunes seem to be looking up as a comprehensive plan for a makeover takes shape. Schools, theme parks, supermarkets, super-grade facilities for the leather, ceramic and other consumer goods industries and hospitals combined with an aesthetic and practical housing complex may be a distant dream for the residents. But a master plan for sustainable development to rehabilitate 71,000 families or around 500,000 people squeezed into an area of 174 hectares is expected to take off soon by simply taking recourse to the Maharashtra government's already existing Slum Rehabilitation Schemes. The prime mover in taking up this challenge to convert Dharavi is Mukesh Mehta, an architect, urban planner and entrepreneur, who believes in harnessing human resources and is keen on integrating "Dharavi in mainstream Mumbai." By implementing government initiatives, the project envisages a free house of 225 sq ft for every slum dweller who will contribute Rs25,000 towards the flat. A corpus fund of Rs20,000 would be set aside for each slum-dweller towards the maintenance of their houses. The scheme also provides financial, technical and administrative support to entrepreneurs of Dharavi, create a cooperative movement like Amul and work closely with multinationals and large corporate organisations. "The target is to ensure that each family makes an annual income of Rs100,000," says Mehta. In an interview with Gulf News, Mehta talked at length of his strategy for redevelopment of Dharavi. "Dharavi has been divided into 12 sectors and each developer would have to concentrate on one sector where its challenges and opportunities have already been drawn up," he says. Each sector measures around 15 hectares with the project cost pegged at Rs4.5 billion. Already, Indian, foreign and NRI investors have shown interest in the mega project that could take around seven years for completion. Whilst the builder constructs flats for the slum dwellers, he takes home the right to build other flats, for higher income groups, on the same site or through transfer of development rights in an area north of Dharavi, thus making his own profit. Government support for the project is expected by getting NRI investors involved and allowing repatriation of investment and profits, says Mehta. After five years of studying Dharavi as a professional and social worker, he is convinced that economic upliftment of the people is the only answer to solving urban poverty and the problem of slums. Though this slum has gone through years of patchy development, Dharavi has continued to deteriorate with open sewage and garbage dumps, air and water pollution and social evils such as prostitution and crime. "Yet, look at the opportunities for redevelopment here," says Mehta. "Dharavi is well placed since it is accessible by the two highways connecting Mumbai to the rest of India and the only suburb that connects to four local railway stations: Bandra, Mahim, Matunga and Sion." As an example, he cites the Kumbharwada sector where the residents are engaged in pottery earning nothing more than Rs30,000 to Rs40,000 a year. Mehta's ideas revolve around setting up a cooperative society that would buy clay, distribute to the potters, construct a large workshop, have a open space for making and drying pots and finally help sell fine-grade modern pottery and ceramics for a far higher price. The viable project also has many problems before it, the key one of providing transit shelters to the people. "Most of the leaders of slum associations are keen on the project and the government has accepted it in principle," says Mehta.