By Shivansh Rastogi
Dharavi, often dubbed Asia’s largest slum, is on the cusp of a grand transformation. Home to an estimated 1 million residents packed into about 2.5 square kilometers in the heart of Mumbai, India’s financial capital, Dharavi has long symbolised both the challenges and vitality of India’s urbanisation. Families here often live 8 to a single room; as many as 15 households share one tap, and 250 people might rely on a single communal toilet. Yet Dharavi is also a “city within a city,” with a thriving informal economy of pottery, leather, recycling and textiles generating a staggering $1 billion in annual output. After decades of stalled efforts, an ambitious redevelopment project led by the Adani Group, one of India’s largest conglomerates, promises to remake Dharavi’s maze of shanties into a modern township of high rises. The plan, with an outlay of ₹2.5 trillion (around $30 billion) over the long term, aims to provide thousands of poor families with proper homes and infrastructure. But it also raises complex questions: Will it uplift Dharavi’s residents by delivering better living conditions and economic opportunities, or displace a marginalised community in favour of real estate profits?
A Storied Slum of Struggles and Enterprise
Dharavi’s story is one of hardship, resilience, and an outrageous “resourcefulness”. The district traces its origins to a fishing village in the late 19th century, but over the 20th century it morphed into a vast informal settlement as migrants from across India poured into Mumbai. By reclaiming swampy land and building makeshift housing, these settlers created a “melting pot of diverse communities” in the city’s centre. Today, Dharavi’s tightly packed shanties shelter roughly 800,000 to 1.2 million people, about one-tenth of Mumbai’s population. Population density here reaches astounding levels, over 400,000 people per square kilometer, compared to about 28,000 in Mumbai on average. This translates to living space as small as 5×5 feet per person in Dharavi’s slums.
Such extreme density comes with acute infrastructure deficits. Many residents lack direct access to clean water, sanitation, or sturdy shelter. In Dharavi’s cramped quarters, basic amenities are scarce, a single standpipe or tap may be rationed among dozens of families, and shared toilets, where they exist at all, are often squalid and overburdened. Public health and living conditions have suffered accordingly, with issues like poor sanitation, flooding, and disease outbreaks long plaguing the community.
Yet, alongside these struggles, Dharavi has blossomed into an economic powerhouse of the informal sector. Often called India’s largest informal economy, Dharavi is home to over 5,000 family-run businesses and 15,000 single-room factories, producing everything from leather goods and textiles to pottery, recycled plastics, garments and baked goods. The slum’s annual economic output has been estimated at ₹8,000–₹10,000 crore or approximately $1 billion. Many residents are self-employed artisans or entrepreneurs, and the area’s literacy rate (around 69%) reflects a degree of social progress even amid poverty. In the words of one municipal official, “Dharavi is driven by the instinct of commerce…There is only one religion and caste in Dharavi – money.” . Over time, Dharavi has essentially functioned as a micro-city, providing low-cost housing and jobs for waves of new migrants. Although, both are in midst of squalor.
Dharavi’s informal status also means most structures were built without regulation, leading to precarious multi-story shacks, tangled electric wires, and toxic environmental conditions. Open sewers and the polluted Mithi River, which separates Dharavi from the upscale Bandra-Kurla Complex nearby, pose health hazards. As Mumbai has modernised around it, gleaming financial districts and luxury high-rises rising just across the river, Dharavi’s persistent slum conditions have been seen by some as an enduring “black spot” on the city’s development narrative. This stark contrast, popularised globally by the film “Slumdog Millionaire,” has long fuelled calls for Dharavi’s redevelopment. The challenge has been how to upgrade this vibrant but under-serviced enclave without destroying the social and economic fabric that makes it unique.
Decades of False Starts on Redevelopment
The dream of transforming Dharavi is not new, it has been pursued by successive governments for nearly 40 years. As far back as 1985, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Dharavi and floated the first promise of a slum overhaul. In the early 2000s, the Maharashtra state government devised an action plan to redevelop Dharavi into an “integrated planned township” by leveraging its valuable land. The idea, approved in 2004, was to use land-as-resource, private developers would get rights to build commercial projects on part of Dharavi’s land in exchange for rehabilitating slum dwellers in new apartments. Dharavi was even declared an “undeveloped area” and a special authority was set up to execute this vision.
Over the next two decades, global tenders were repeatedly issued, in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2016, and 2018, but each attempt stumbled amid bureaucratic hurdles, financing woes, political shifts, or lack of investor interest. Tenders in the mid-2010s saw virtually no takers, as the scale and complexity of Dharavi’s makeover deterred all but the boldest developers. The project requires not only constructing tens of thousands of homes, but also navigating complex property rights, many residents have no clear titles, relocating or compensating businesses, and coordinating with multiple government agencies for infrastructure and land acquisition.
A breakthrough seemed to arrive in late 2018, when the state invited bids for a holistic redevelopment of all 240 hectares (approx. 600 acres) of Dharavi as a single project. A Dubai-based company, Seclink Technologies, emerged as the highest bidder with a ₹7,200 crore offer. Seclink’s consortium, backed by a fund from Abu Dhabi royalty, had earmarked an investment of up to ₹25,000–28,000 crore or approximately $3.5 billion to rebuild Dharavi. However, this deal was soon derailed. Citing a “material change” in project scope, the government decided to cancel the 2018 tender and start anew. The ostensible reason was the belated inclusion of a crucial 45-acre parcel of railway land that had become available adjacent to Dharavi. Officials argued that adding this tract, meant to house some residents during reconstruction, fundamentally altered the project, necessitating a fresh bidding process. Critics suspected politics at play, the government changed in 2019, and with it came differing views on who should spearhead Dharavi’s renewal.
It was only in late 2022, under a new BJP-led state administration, that Dharavi’s redevelopment was decisively relaunched. The tender was reissued with stricter eligibility criteria, including a requirement that bidders have a net worth of at least ₹20,000 crore, a high bar intended to ensure the chosen developer had the financial muscle for this “world’s largest urban renewal project”. When bids were opened in November 2022, Adani Properties, part of billionaire Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, emerged on top. Adani’s bid of ₹5,069 crore far outstripped the only other qualified bid of ₹2,025 crore from realty firm DLF. This upfront payment was for the right to redevelop 259 hectares of Dharavi, and implied an initial project cost of around ₹20,000 crore or $2.5 billion for rehabilitation and infrastructure. The state government swiftly approved Adani as the developer, praising the group’s resources and experience with mega-projects.
Adani’s selection was not without controversy. Opposition politicians accused the government of favouring a company seen as close to the ruling party. Gautam Adani, the founder of the conglomerate, is widely viewed as an ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and his companies have won numerous infrastructure contracts in recent years. The Bombay High Court later upheld the tender, dismissing a legal challenge from Seclink in December 2024. The court noted that the 2018 bid was nullified due to legitimate changes, like the railway land, and found no improper bias in awarding the 2022 tender to Adani. With this legal green light, the long-delayed Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) finally moved forward. By mid-2023, an SPV (special purpose vehicle) called Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt. Ltd. was formed to execute the plan, jointly owned by Adani (80% stake) and the Maharashtra government (20%). The state appointed the SPV’s chairman, while Adani Group named the managing director, reflecting a public-private partnership model designed to keep the developer accountable to government oversight.
“We are building a city within a city,” says S.V.R. Srinivas, the IAS officer heading the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority. “This is the brownest of the brownfield projects, the world’s largest urban renewal project.” The foundation stone for redevelopment was laid in October 2023, and early construction work has begun on the acquired railway land, marking the first tangible steps of a plan that was conceived decades ago .
Adani’s Redevelopment Plan
For the Adani Group and the government alike, the Dharavi project is laden with ambition and symbolism. Gautam Adani, one of India’s richest industrialists, framed the project in almost heroic terms, “Visualise the world’s largest redevelopment project in Mumbai’s Dharavi to transform the world’s largest slum over the next decade. Not only will this provide dignity of living to its over one million residents, but at the same time it will build an unmatched ecosystem of sustainable living and innovation in the heart of Mumbai.” Adani’s stated motivation is to “restore dignity” to Dharavi’s people by replacing squalor with modern housing. It is a goal shared by policymakers who have long been embarrassed by Dharavi’s conditions. The Maharashtra government, especially Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a key proponent, sees the project as a flagship urban renewal initiative that will improve living standards, boost Mumbai’s global image, and unlock the economic potential of prime city-center land.
At a practical level, the objectives of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) are multifaceted:
1. Rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers: Provide formal housing for eligible Dharavi residents, free of cost. Every family that can prove residence in Dharavi since before January 1, 2000 is promised a new apartment of 350 sq. ft. with proper utilities. This alone entails building tens of thousands of flats, effectively replacing shanties with high-rise apartment blocks. The project plans to construct 125,000+ residential units in total for rehabilitation and resettlement. Adani’s offer includes in-situ rehabilitation, meaning many slum dwellers will be rehoused within Dharavi itself, rather than being permanently relocated far away.
2. Infrastructure and Sanitation: Dramatically upgrade basic infrastructure, from paved roads and clean water supply to sewage treatment and waste management. Notably, Dharavi currently lacks a proper sewer system despite housing roughly 150,000 structures. The redevelopment will integrate Dharavi into the city’s utility grids and add amenities like schools, healthcare centers, parks, and community spaces. There are plans for green belts and open spaces on about 17% of the land and new roads across 18% of the land to improve connectivity. The adjacent Mithi River is slated for cleanup and dredging as part of environmental restoration, given that Dharavi contributes significantly to its pollution.
3. Retaining Economic Activity: A core aim is to preserve and enhance Dharavi’s bustling informal economy rather than simply evicting it. The master plan allocates a 10% slice of land to develop an “economic hub”, essentially modern industrial and business spaces, where Dharavi’s existing workshops and small industries can be rehoused in better conditions. About 20,000 commercial or industrial units, mostly small shops and workshop spaces, will be built for eligible businesses. Therefore, long-standing businesses operating on ground floors since before 2000 will get 225 sq. ft. commercial units free as replacement, with options to purchase additional space at fixed rates. This is intended to ensure that potters, leather tanners, textile recyclers and other trades can continue to operate in the new Dharavi, albeit in a more organised setting.
4. Cross-Subsidy Through Real Estate Development: To finance the free housing and infrastructure, the plan banks on the “land as resource” model. Of Dharavi’s total 621 acres, less than half will be used for rehousing current residents and amenities. The remaining 118.
5 acres of land will be freed up for commercial development and sale on the open market, such as high-end residential towers, offices, and malls. In real terms, about 69.4 million sq. ft. of lucrative real estate could be created for sale on these lands, effectively turning Dharavi’s central location into a financial engine. Proceeds from selling or leasing this space are what make the project financially viable for the developer. Property experts estimate that this “free sale” component, around 140 million sq. ft. per some calculations, could yield revenues of ₹1.2–1.7 lakh crore for the project over time. The government has even mandated that other builders in Mumbai must purchase a portion of their building rights (TDR) from the Dharavi project, helping create a market for Adani to monetise these new development rights. 5. Special Purpose Vehicle and Phasing: The project is structured as a public-private partnership via an SPV, ensuring government oversight. Adani Group has reportedly committed to invest nearly ₹10,000 crore in the initial rehabilitation phase. The timeline set by authorities is 7 years to relocate and rehabilitate the roughly 68,000 eligible slum families, out of Dharavi’s ~1 lakh households, into permanent housing. The rehabilitation housing, along with basic amenities, is targeted for completion by 2031–2032 . The subsequent commercial development may be phased over up to 20–25 years, responding to market demand. During construction, the plan is to minimise displacement by using a “key-to-key” strategy, wherever possible, move residents directly from their old homes into new apartments when ready, rather than into interim transit camps. This phased approach, rehabilitation first, high-profit construction later, aligns the social objectives with the business model, the developer can only unlock profits after fulfilling the rehabilitation obligations.
In summary, the Adani-led DRP seeks to achieve what decades of public schemes could not: a one-shot, comprehensive renewal of Dharavi that marries social uplift with real estate-driven economics. For Gautam Adani, known for ports, power plants and airports, this venture also marks a high-profile entry into urban real estate development at an unprecedented scale. If successful, it could burnish Adani’s credentials as a nation-builder tackling India’s toughest challenges. The government’s motive, meanwhile, is not only to improve citizens’ lives but to demonstrate the viability of public-private partnership in resolving urban housing crises. As one state official put it, Dharavi’s overhaul will “carve out a mini-megacity in the heart of India’s financial capital” that rehabilitates over a lakh (100,000) slum dwellers and transforms a ₹25,000 crore informal economy into a formal, vibrant part of the city .
High Stakes: Impact on Mumbai
The Dharavi redevelopment holds enormous stakes for social equity, economic growth, and urban planning in Mumbai. On one hand, the potential benefits are transformative. By 2030s, Dharavi’s residents could be living in tower blocks with 24-hour water, electricity, and private toilets, a far cry from the present reality of corrugated tin roofs and open drains. Each rehabilitated family will gain a tangible asset, a formal apartment, that could uplift them into the middle class and provide security for generations. Children growing up in Dharavi may have access to proper schools, health clinics, parks and playgrounds within their neighbourhood for the first time. Public health would likely improve as overcrowding eases and clean water and sewage systems cover the area. The psychological impact of moving from slum conditions to a concrete apartment with modern amenities is hard to overstate, for many, it is the difference between marginalisation and dignity. “A free home with running water and two toilets will be a world apart from his current under-the-bed existence,” India Today wrote of one Dharavi resident awaiting rehousing.
Mumbai as a whole stands to gain from integrating Dharavi into the formal city fabric. The project will effectively urbanise a pocket that has been semi-informal for ages, knitting it into Mumbai’s transport, utility and economic grid. Located next to the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai’s glossy business district, Dharavi’s land is extremely valuable. Once redeveloped, the contrast across the Mithi River will diminish, land prices in Dharavi, historically one third of BKC rates, may rise substantially. In fact, the project will unlock roughly 70 million sq ft of new real estate in central Mumbai, a city starved of space. This could ease pressure on housing elsewhere and potentially temper Mumbai’s spiralling property prices if a large supply of new apartments hits the market over the next two decades. The government also expects a jobs boom from construction and the new commercial ventures, not only tens of thousands of construction jobs in the short term, but also longer-term employment in offices, retail, and services that will come up on redeveloped land.
Crucially, if Dharavi’s informal industries are successfully transitioned into formal settings, it could amplify their productivity and market reach. Modern facilities and better credit/access could turn some of those ₹8,000 crore in annual informal earnings into taxable, scalable businesses. There is even talk of leveraging Dharavi’s entrepreneurial energy to develop hubs of innovation and start-ups, an ambition mentioned by Adani and echoed by officials who imagine parts of Dharavi becoming an extension of Mumbai’s financial district. In the best-case scenario, Dharavi’s people would not be displaced at all, but rather elevated, living in better homes, running stronger businesses, and gaining a seat at Mumbai’s formal economy table.
However, the project also triggers fears and risks of negative consequences, underscoring why redevelopment took so long in the first place. Foremost is the risk of displacement. Despite promises to rehouse everyone, many residents are anxious that they may be left out or forced out. Under the eligibility rules, only families that settled in Dharavi before 2000 get a free 350 sq ft flat in the new development. Those who arrived between 2000 and 2011 are entitled to a 300 sq ft house but not in Dharavi itself, instead, in a new colony outside the area, at a heavily subsidised cost of ₹2.5 lakh (about $3,000). Meanwhile, residents who moved in after 2011, or those living on upper floors of shanty structures, are not eligible for free housing at all; they are offered 300 sq ft units on a “hire-purchase” basis, essentially a mortgage like arrangement, in the new townships outside Dharavi. According to the redevelopment authority’s initial survey, roughly 60–70% of the current residents may fall into these “ineligible” categories. That could be around 700,000 people who won’t be rehoused within Dharavi proper. Their fate is a major concern, they might have to relocate to distant suburbs like Mulund or Kanjurmarg, where the government has sanctioned salt-pan land to build rehousing townships. Indeed, the prospect of moving thousands of Dharavi families to new buildings in other parts of Mumbai has already sparked protests in those localities, residents of Mulund and Malad rallied in early 2025 against shifting Dharavi dwellers into their midst, citing strain on local infrastructure.
“Redevelopment for whom?” ask critics, pointing out that glossy high-rises might primarily serve new affluent buyers rather than the original inhabitants. Some opponents have dubbed the project “the world’s biggest TDR scam,” alleging that increasing building rights and floor-area limits are designed to maximise developer profits at the expense of liveability. The government’s recent move to raise the permitted Floor Space Index (FSI) for Dharavi has drawn fire from urban planners, who warn it could lead to overly dense, high-rise blocks that replicate slum-like crowding in vertical form. In other words, if developers pack too many small flats into towers, to boost saleable area, Dharavi’s people might end up in congested high-rises with minimal sunlight or ventilation, trading one kind of slum for another.
There are also reports of heavy-handed tactics to clear the slum. Some Dharavi families have alleged harassment and pressure to vacate even before proper resettlement is available. In late 2024, Dharavi’s legislator Varsha Gaikwad, of the opposition Congress party, claimed that “local goons and retired cops” were delivering midnight eviction notices to residents, ordering them to leave within days. Such allegations fuel distrust, suggesting that not all negotiations between the project authorities and residents have been smooth. A citizens’ collective named “Dharavi Bachao Andolan” (Save Dharavi Movement) has been voicing demands for fair rehabilitation, they insist every Dharavi family should get a 500 sq ft house, larger than the 300–350 sq ft currently offered, and that all resettlement should happen on-site, not on distant railway land. The government has had to engage in ongoing community outreach to persuade reluctant residents, and by mid-2023 some breakthroughs were reported with activists coming on board after assurances from officials.
Nonetheless, the tug-of-war between development and displacement remains sensitive. The true test will be maintaining trust with the community through each phase of rehousing.
From a financial perspective, Adani Group faces the challenge of making this colossal project viable. The group will invest huge sums upfront for rehabilitation, nearly ₹95,790 crore is earmarked just for building the free housing and new amenities, including outside townships. Returns, however, depend on the eventual sale of commercial and luxury residential space over many years. Market risks abound, if Mumbai’s real estate market slumps or if regulatory changes occur, the profitability could be hit. The state government has provided some incentives, such as waiving land costs, Mumbai’s municipal authority ceded its land in Dharavi free of charge, rather than charging the usual premiums, and directing that other projects buy Transferable Development Rights (TDR) from Dharavi at a premium. These moves indicate an extraordinary level of government backing to ensure Adani can finance the venture. Even so, the execution risks are immense, coordinating across eight different government agencies, handling court cases, and maintaining cash flow through India’s economic cycles for two decades. Gautam Adani, whose conglomerate weathered a stock rout in early 2023 after fraud allegations by a US short-seller, is effectively betting that his team can pull off India’s most complex real estate project and eventually reap rewards from Mumbai’s ever-growing property demand.
A New Dawn or Uncertain Horizon?
As bulldozers roll into Dharavi’s narrow lanes and surveys mark out future towers, Mumbai is witnessing an urban experiment of unprecedented scale. The Dharavi Redevelopment Project encapsulates the dual promise and peril of India’s development trajectory. Its motivations and objectives, to replace poverty with prosperity, slum shanties with modern apartments, chaos with urban order, are undeniably noble on paper. If executed with empathy and efficiency, the project could dramatically improve living conditions for hundreds of thousands of people, set a model for slum rehabilitation across India, and bolster Mumbai’s status as a world-class city. An entire generation of Dharavi families might grow up free from the indignities of slum life, while the city gains a new commercial district and housing stock in the heart of downtown.
Yet the consequences will only be judged in the years to come. The balance between upliftment and uprooting is a delicate one. Will Dharavi’s original residents truly benefit most from the new high-rises, or will they be marginalised and dispersed in the process? The coming years will test whether a partnership between a private conglomerate and the government can prioritise people over profits. Officials insist that checks are in place, the government retains control of development norms and can revoke the contract if terms aren’t met. “It would be wrong to say Adani will have control; he will have to do as the state government says or the contract will be taken away,” state CM Fadnavis has asserted. Such reassurances indicate the political sensitivities around the project.
Hence, one might say the Dharavi redevelopment is both a business venture and a social experiment. It represents an inflection point: can Mumbai find a way to redevelop its slums without erasing their soul? The answer will have multifaceted impacts on society. Success could mean a template for inclusive growth, a win-win where slum-dwellers get homes and investors get returns. Failure, on the other hand, could deepen cynicism, proving critics right that mega projects only serve the elite. For now, optimism cautiously prevails among planners and many residents. The sight of model flats and the promise of a “key-to-key” rehousing keeps hope alive that Dharavi’s people will indeed step into new homes as early as 2027–28, directly from their old ones.
Mumbai’s history has always been one of reinvention, from seven swampy islands to a financial capital of skyscrapers. Dharavi’s redevelopment may well be the city’s most ambitious reinvention yet. As one local activist observed, “We want development, but we want it to happen in a way that includes us.” The coming decade will reveal whether the Adani-led plan can truly deliver a brighter future for Dharavi’s million residents or whether it becomes, in hindsight, a cautionary tale of development gone awry. For now, the world’s eyes remain on Dharavi, watching this grand experiment unfold on Mumbai’s canvas.