Adani Group’s Dharavi Redevelopment Hits Roadblock: Land Acquisition Struggles Threaten Project

Adani Group’s ambitious plan to redevelop Dharavi, one of Asia’s largest slums, is facing serious challenges, particularly with acquiring the land needed to relocate the area’s residents, according to a Reuters report.

Dharavi, famously depicted in the 2008 Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, covers an area nearly three-quarters the size of New York’s Central Park. Despite India’s rapid development, Dharavi remains known for its poor living conditions, including open sewers and shared toilets.

The Adani Group, which won the $619 million bid last year to redevelop the 240-hectare slum, aims to transform it into a modern urban center. However, the project has faced criticism, with opposition parties accusing the group of receiving undue favors in securing the contract, allegations that the Adani Group denies.

A major obstacle has arisen regarding the land required for rehabilitating Dharavi’s residents. SVR Srinivas, head of the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority, noted that only residents who lived in Dharavi before 2000 qualify for free housing. This leaves about 700,000 people without eligibility, requiring an additional 580 acres of land for their relocation.

“In Mumbai, securing land is incredibly difficult. We haven’t yet received even a single inch of land,” Srinivas said, expressing concern that these delays could impact the project’s timeline. “Without land, the project cannot proceed on schedule, and that’s a critical issue,” he added.

Redeveloping Dharavi, which aims to rehouse a million people, is a key project for Adani, who faced accusations of business mismanagement last year in a report by Hindenburg Research, which he denied.

Despite these hurdles, Adani remains optimistic about the project’s potential impact, hoping the area will eventually produce “millionaires without the slumdog prefix.”

The project, which began with an eligibility survey in March, is scheduled for completion within seven years.