August 8, 2025: Speaking to students at IIM Lucknow, Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, opened up about the motivation behind his decision to take on the mammoth task of redeveloping Dharavi — Asia’s largest slum and one of the world’s most densely populated urban settlements.
“Everyone told me Dharavi is unmanageable. That’s exactly why I chose it,” Adani said, drawing attention to the scale and complexity of the challenge. Rather than viewing it as merely a real estate opportunity, he framed it as a human-centred mission. “It is much more than a brick-and-mortar project. Humanity lays the foundation stone for development,” he remarked, met with resounding applause from the audience.
Adani, currently India’s second-richest man, also shared reflections on his early career and his appetite for calculated risks. “Maps will only take you where someone has already been. But to build something where nobody has gone to, you don’t need a map but a compass,” he told the students — a metaphor encapsulating his approach to innovation and leadership.
He recalled the scepticism he faced when developing Mundra Port, now India’s largest commercial port. “Bankers laughed at me when I asked for funding. They said, ‘How do you expect us to finance land that’s under water?’” he said. Today, Mundra forms the cornerstone of a 21-port network and a key pillar in India’s logistics and infrastructure growth.
By taking on Dharavi, Adani isn’t just building infrastructure — he is attempting to rewrite the story of one of India’s most iconic and complex neighbourhoods. In his words and actions, the project is less about profit and more about purpose.
Source: The Free Press Journal
