On Monday, the state cabinet resolved to allocate 125 acres of land from the Deonar dumping site for rental housing to people found ineligible for free housing under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project. So far, the government has awarded 255 acres of salt pan land near Kanjurmarg and Mulund, 140 acres on Madh Island, and 21.25 acres of Kurla Dairy land for the rental housing project. The Adani-led DRP has received 541.25 acres of land, including the Deonar dumping site plot.
Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil confirmed to HT that DRP Pvt Ltd applied for the land, which the state approved. The Hindustan Times originally reported on the state’s proposal on September 14. Dharavi residents with ground-floor shanties and houses built before January 1, 2000, are eligible for the initiative. Ineligible people will receive rental housing at a cost of ₹2.5 lakh per tenement.
After facing heavy opposition from citizens and BJP politicians in Mulund, Kurla, Dahisar, and Bhakti Park, the state housing department resorted to the Deonar dumping yard area, where the BMC had stopped dumping solid trash. The plot belongs to the suburban collectorate and is owned by the state government’s revenue department. It is in the BMC’s custody.
The state government has been negotiating with municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani to turn over the 326-acre Deonar dumping plot for DRP rental homes. The BMC will keep 75 acres for a variety of purposes, including the generation of electricity from garbage.
Source: Hindustan Times
