Will cancel Dharavi contract with Adani if....: Fadnavis

Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the contract for Dharavi redevelopment will be "taken back" from the Adani group if it fails to follow instructions of the state government.

IMAGE: A view of Dharavi in Mumbai. Photograph: ANI Photo

Speaking at the India Today conclave, he refuted allegations of the opposition parties on the project and asserted the tender was given to the Adani group as it was the highest bidder.

On Wednesday, Mumbai Congress chief and Lok Sabha MP Varsha Gaikwad had claimed 80 percent of shares of Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited, which is helming the ambitious makeover, were held by Adani group, while the state government had the remaining 20 percent.

Gaikwad, who was Dharavi MLA before being elected to the Lok Sabha in the 2024 general polls, also alleged the redevelopment project was real estate's biggest scam.

Queried on Gaikwad's claims, Fadnavis said, "The Dharavi redevelopment plan is under the state government's control. A principal secretary rank officer will be the chief of DRP. It will draft development control rules. Based on these rules, the actual development will occur. Unless these rules are approved by the state Urban Development Department, the company cannot start work."

"Adani (group) will have to do whatever the government wants. If they do not do it, we will take back the contract from them," said Fadnavis, who was state housing minister when billionaire Gautam Adani's group won the bid for redeveloping Dharavi, one of the world's densest urban sprawls.

The opposition parties are either not studying the issue properly or are more interested in politicising it, the senior BJP leader said.

He said the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government failed to cap Transferable Development Rights.

This omission would have granted the redeveloping entity in Dharavi unrestricted authority to stockpile these rights and realise excessive profits through their sale to other real estate developers in the city, Fadnavis alleged.

"It was our government which put a cap on TDR pricing. It cannot exceed 90 percent of the ready reckoner rates. We also provided a facility called digital platform where details of the available TDR will be displayed. We have made the process transparent," Fadnavis asserted.