Will take back Dharavi project contract from Adani Group if…: Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the tender for the Dharavi redevelopment project was awarded to the Adani Group as it was the highest bidder and rejected the opposition’s charge that additional land concessions were extended to the conglomerate.
Speaking at India Today’s Mumbai Conclave, Fadnavis sought to put the ball in the opposition’s court, saying the previous Uddhav Thackeray government failed to cap the Transferable Development Rights (TDR).
“In the tender conditions finalised by Uddhav Thackeray’s Cabinet, there was no cap on the Transferable Development Rights (TDR). This meant that whoever won the tender would practically become the owner of Mumbai as they would control the entire TDR market in the city,” the former Chief Minister said.
Fadnavis said it was the Mahayuti government that put a cap on TDR pricing after coming to power in 2022. “It (TDR pricing) cannot exceed 90 per cent of the ready reckoner rates. We also provided a facility called digital platform where details of the available TDR will be displayed. We have made the process transparent,” he said.
The BJP leader said the MVA tender conditions only accounted for the rehabilitation of 70,000 people living on the ground floor. “We said that if you are only going to rehabilitate 60,000 families where there are 2-3 lakh families, and leave out the rest, this project will never happen,” Fadnavis said.
Fadnavis’s rebuttal came after former minister Aaditya Thackeray, speaking in the India Today Conclave, alleged that Mumbai was being given “free of cost” to the Adani Group, and it would turn into ‘Adani City’.
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad, speaking at the conclave, claimed 80 per cent of shares of Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL), which is helming the project, were held by the Adani Group, while the government had the remaining 20 per cent. She also called the project real estate’s “biggest scam”.
When asked about the allegations, Fadnavis said the Dharavi project was under the state government’s control. “Adani (group) will have to do whatever the government wants. If they do not do it, we will take back the contract from them,” he said.
Explaining the intricacies of the project, Fadnavis said a principal secretary rank officer would draft the development rules.
“Based on these rules, the actual development will occur. Unless these rules are approved by the government, the company cannot start work,” he said and slammed the opposition for politicising the slum development project.