Dharavi redevelopment: first-phase residents may get new homes by March 2029

Residents of the first phase of the Dharavi redevelopment project are likely to get possession of their new homes by March 2029. The plan is to complete five of the 10 first-phase buildings and hand them over to residents. The target for handing over the remaining five buildings is August 2030.

According to a senior official of the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority (DRA), the first phase will have 10 residential buildings of 37 to 39 floors. The buildings will have a total of 10,432 residential and 1,379 non-residential units. Residents of Sector 1 and Sector 5 will be rehabilitated in the initial phase.

The entire redevelopment plan envisages about 150,000 units, counting residential, commercial and industrial space and space for amenities. These will include health centres and child care centres.

The detailed master plan of the project is expected to be released in the first week of December. So far, surveys of about 91,000 homes have been completed under the project.

Residents will soon be able to see a 350 sq ft sample flat. It will be made available at the Dharavi Experience Centre.

A key feature of the homes is that every flat will have two toilets. The initial plan proposed only one toilet per home. Keeping in mind large families of eight to 10 members, the plan was changed after discussions among senior officials and a second toilet was added. The change will raise the construction cost of each flat by an estimated Rs 1.5 lakh.

The authority will be responsible for maintaining the new buildings for the first ten years. Arrangements have been made to raise a maintenance fund after that. Income from the sale or rent of 10 per cent of the commercial units in each building will be spent on maintaining the buildings. The idea is that after ten years, cooperative housing societies can maintain the buildings themselves.

The project is considered important for changing the residential, commercial and industrial face of Dharavi. If the first-phase buildings are handed over on schedule, the large-scale rehabilitation of residents will begin.