'Every decision of gifting lands...': Mumbai Congress targets Adani again, promises big move on Dharavi

Varsha Gaikwad, Congress MP from Mumbai North Central, has once again attacked the Mahayuti government over the Dharavi redevelopment project, which is being executed by the Adani Group. In an interview, the Congress MP said if the Maha Vikas Agadhi returns to power, she will push for a White Paper on the Dharavi project. 

"Each and every decision of gifting lands to Dharavi should be reviewed after the formation of a new government," Gaikwad said in an interview with The Indian Express. "First, it was Kurla dairy, then land at Mulund and Deonar for PAPs, then salt pan land, the land in Borivli and latest is in Deonar dumping ground. I will personally push for a White Paper on the entire decision-making process for Dharavi redevelopment and I am sure that it will be granted."

Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums, is situated in the heart of Mumbai. The state government has formed a joint venture with Adani Group to develop this into a modern urban space. However, the opposition led by Congress and Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena has accused the government of favouring the Adani group and giving more than what is due to the conglomerate. 

Two days ago, the Maharashtra Cabinet approved the allotment of 124 acres of the Deonar dumping ground to the Adani Group for housing units under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). This marked the third land allotment within a month. On October 10, the state cleared 140 acres in Madh for resettling Dharavi residents, and earlier, on September 30, it approved leasing 255 acres of salt-pan land for the project. In June 2023, 21 acres of Kurla dairy land were also allocated for the same purpose.

Last week on Saturday, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray targeted the state government and the conglomerate, saying the Tata Group gave India salt, but some industrialists were taking away Mumbai's saltpan lands. His comments came as he paid homage to late Ratan Tata at the party’s Dussehra rally in Mumbai.

Last month, Gaikwad claimed that the state government was hatching a plot to hand over 1,500 acres of eco-sensitive salt pan land in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to Adani Group. She alleged the usurping of land belonging to the people of Mumbai was the sole agenda of the business conglomerate. "Mumbai's future is not for sale. Salt pan land reclamation can potentially threaten floods," she said.

Speaking at India Today Conclave Mumbai, Gaikwad last month claimed that 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 state government had the remaining 20 per cent. She also called the project real estate's "biggest scam".

However, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis countered the Congress MP, saying the Dharavi project was under the government's control and that the 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.

Fadnavis said nothing has been given to Adani as the land has been handed over to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority (DRP), which is a government authority and the state holds a stake in it. "The government controls DRP. Nothing has been transferred to Adani. Everything is with DRP, and the government holds a stake in DRP. We control DRP."