Dharavi redevelopment: State seeks to swap 107 acres of railway land

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government has asked the railways to be a part of the Dharavi redevelopment project by handing over around 107 acres of land around the Matunga-Mahim belt. State government officials assure that the proposal is a "win-win situation" as the railways have been offered twice the land they surrender or a floor space index (FSI) of 4 if they choose to join the project.
The Dharavi redevelopment project, spread across 240 hectres, is a Rs 22,000 crore slum rehabilitation project-touted as Asia's largest.

The state government has sought land parcels from Central and Western railways of 17 acres and 90 acres, respectively. Dharavi lies between both Central and Western lines. While a part of this railway land is encroached upon, other portions house staff quarters, a scrap yard, an RPF ground and a training institute.

A senior railway official said, "The offer looks attractive but it has to be cleared by the Union cabinet as it is a policy matter. Neither WR nor CR officials can decide for or against the proposal."

Source said the railway board has also helped draft the cabinet note for the proposal and it may soon be tabled before the Union cabinet.

A railway official said, "Apart from the compensatory benefit in the form of FSI or land-swap, the railways will be a major beneficiary in other ways too. For instance, we will get the encroached land freed up for laying of additional tracks for fifth and sixth lines between Parel and Kurla, and a sixth line between Mumbai central and Mahim. We also won't have to worry about rehabilitation of project-affected persons (PAPs) as the project master plan will take care of the process."

On the flip side, though, the railways would have to surrender land close to the Matunga workshop whose expansion will be stymied. Besides, the railways are apprehensive about the promises made by the state in lieu of surrendering the land.

State officials say if the move comes through, it will give a much-needed boost to the Dharavi redevelopment project. The state government says the railway land could house as many as 30,000 transit accommodation units-a sizeable portion for the project. "We had a meeting with senior railway officials this week and the proposal is at an advanced level of discussions," said a senior official.

In October, the Maharashtra state cabinet had cleared the Dharavi project and also begun setting up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for easy sanctions of necessary rights required for the project. On Friday, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) floated requests for qualification and proposal from bidders from India and abroad for the integrated redevelopment of Dharavi.

The tender notice mentions that the successful bidder will have to form a SPV with 80% equity of Rs 400 crore in the project; the state government will hold the remaining 20% equity. In lieu of providing free housing, the successful bidder will be entitled to construct free sale area to sell in the market. The FSI for the project is 4 and the project tenure seven years.

Rough estimates show that currently Dharavi has more than 59,000 structures spread over 104 hectares. The area has also developed as a hub of small-scale industries with more than 12,000 commercial establishments.