The transfer of 256 acres of Mumbai salt pan land to the state government was approved by the Union cabinet on Monday, clearing the way for the Dharavi Redevelopment project to be implemented as soon as possible.
The transfer of 283 acres was requested by the Shinde government in response to a cabinet decision made in February.
According to sources, the Maharashtra government will receive a 99-year lease on the land from the Union Cabinet, subject to the state subleasing the area.
The Salt Commissioner Organisation, a central government body under the Commerce and Industry Ministry, is the owner of the salt pan lands, which are dispersed throughout Kanjurmarg, Wadala, and Mulund. For this reason, the Center had to be contacted.
The state will use the land parcels it receives for an affordable rental housing program for Dharavi’s qualifying slum dwellers. The state government will obtain the market value of the land from the Special Purpose Vehicle, Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL), upon the land’s transfer by the Union Government.
The Maharashtra government had already identified abandoned salt facilities, the leases for which have long since expired, that DRPPL could take over for the reconstruction of Dharavi. The parcels of land that have been identified include the following: Suleman Shah Land (28 acres) at Wadala; Jenkins Salt Works Land (77 acres) at Kanjurmarg; Jamasp Salt Works Land (58.5 acres) at Mulund; and Arthur Salt Works Land (120.5 acres).
Source: The Times of India
