October 31, 2025: A growing movement under the banner of the ‘Dharavi Bachao Andolan’ has strongly opposed the state government’s decision to rehabilitate ineligible Dharavi residents on Mulund’s salt pan land, demanding that all residents be given houses within Dharavi itself.
The Maharashtra government recently cleared the way for construction on a 41.5-acre salt pan site in Mulund, designating the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) as the Special Planning Authority for the land. This move aims to provide rental housing to ineligible Dharavi residents under the slum rehabilitation scheme, marking the first time such a provision has been made.
However, both Dharavi residents and Mulund locals have expressed dissatisfaction. Environmentalists have also opposed using salt pan lands, citing ecological damage concerns, while a related petition remains pending in the Supreme Court.
Former MLA Baburao Mane, coordinator of the Dharavi Bachao Andolan, said, “We demand that Dharavi residents should be rehabilitated in Dharavi itself. We will take to the streets if necessary. This is a plan to disqualify a large number of Dharavi residents and give the Dharavi site to Adani. But we will not let this plan succeed. Not a single Dharavi resident will go out of Dharavi.”
The Andolan has accused the government of attempting to exclude many residents through disqualification in the Annexure-2 lists, claiming it paves the way for corporate interests. A public meeting has been scheduled on November 2 at Tilak Nagar in Dharavi, where the group will decide its next course of action to ensure that rehabilitation takes place only within Dharavi’s boundaries.
Source: Loksatta
