Dharavi, Mahalaxmi Racecourse: Of land, redevelopment, and politics

In a city where space is at a premium, two vast tracts of landthe 500-acre Dharavi slums and the 225-acre Mahalaxmi Racecourse have become the battlegrounds for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-backed Eknath Shinde government (the Mahayuti) and the Opposition alliance, led by Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT).

- DEV CHATTERJEE

The government's ambitious vision to metamorphose Dharavi, Asia's largest slum, into a worldclass city is facing stiff resistance with Thackeray alleging that the project has been handed to the Adani group under terms favourable to it. "We want to give 500 square feet houses to all Dharavi residents and scrap the government resolution that mandates other Mumbai builders to buy transfer of development rights (TDR) from Adani that would be generated from Dharavi redevelopment," says Thackeray, 63, at a public meeting.

Despite Dharavi being located in the Mumbai North Central constituency and Mahalaxmi Racecourse in South Mumbai, the issues have caught the attention of all parties and their candidates.

Rahul Shewale, 51-year-old Member of Parliament for Mumbai South Central from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, asserts his deep understanding of the challenges faced by Dharavi's residents. Born and raised in Dharavi, Shewale notes that he has represented the people for several decades, and emphasises that the project is a joint venture, not solely an Adani enterprise.

Government "The of Maharashtra also owns a stake in the special purpose vehicle and has government nominees on the board of Dharavi Redevelopment Corporation. We will take all EART Dharavi legal residents into confiGRO dence who are supporting the project," he assures.