Adani’s Mumbai slum redevelopment faces land acquisition issues

A JOINT venture led by billionaire Gautam Adani is encountering difficulties in securing land to rehabilitate residents of Mumbai's Dharavi slum, according to a government official. This challenge poses a potential setback for the ambitious redevelopment project.

Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums, gained international attention after being featured in Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning 2008 movie Slumdog Millionaire. The slum, located near Mumbai's international airport, contrasts sharply with India's ongoing development, with its open sewers and shared toilets.

After winning a £468 million bid last year, the Adani Group plans to transform the 240-hectare (594-acre) area into a modern city hub. However, the project has already faced protests from opposition political parties, who allege that the contract was awarded with undue favoritism from the state government—a claim the Adani Group denies.

Now, a new challenge has emerged. Only residents who lived in Dharavi before 2000 are eligible for free housing under the redevelopment. The land required to house the approximately 700,000 ineligible residents—at least 580 acres—has not yet been secured.

To build homes for these ineligible residents, the Adani joint venture has applied to various local and federal agencies for additional land. However, SVR Srinivas, head of the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority, stated that no land has been acquired so far, as these agencies have their own plans for the land they own.

"In Mumbai, getting land is the toughest of things. Physically not a single inch of land has come to us," Srinivas said.

When asked if land acquisition delays would impact the project timeline, Srinivas responded, "Yes, without land, the project cannot take place, so that is a very critical factor for doing the project on time."

The Adani Group, which holds a majority stake in the joint venture with the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority, did not respond to an email seeking comments.

The project, which began in March with a survey to determine eligibility, aims to rehouse a million people within seven years. The redevelopment is a significant undertaking for Adani, who last year faced allegations of business mismanagement and stock manipulation in a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research—allegations that he denied.

Adani's group has acknowledged the "colossal" challenges of rebuilding Dharavi but expressed hope that the area will one day produce "millionaires without the slumdog prefix."

(Reuters)