Dharavi redevelopment,infrastructure,pollution

“Uddhav Thackeray came three times to Dharavi to address the people,” says Baburao Mane,a former Sena legislator from Dharavi and among the main players in the opposition to the redevelopment project in its current form.

The South Central constituency comprises large tracts of slum lands in Mahim,Wadala and Antop Hill as well as the middle-class areas of Anushakti Nagar,King’s Circle,Matunga and Chembur,but the most prominent issue for both top candidates – sitting MP Eknath Gaikwad (Congress) and Shiv Sena legislator from Mahim,Suresh Gambhir – remains Dharavi.

The 80,000-odd families in Dharavi should,according to the Shiv Sena,get 400 sq ft flats free,instead of the 300 sq ft homes promised by the project; the right to “self-redevelopment” for Kumbharwada and Koliwada; free industrial galas for the recycling,scrap,leather goods,tailoring,pottery,zari embroidery,manufacturing accessories and foodstuff manufacturing units.

Dharavi may itself account for no more than 1.5 lakh voters,but other slums in the constituency too are keenly watching the progress of what is labelled a model project that could be replicated.

Transportation and infrastructure projects are the other major issue driving voters,key among them being the simultaneous construction of several flyovers along the arterial Dr Ambedkar Road,the monorail that will pass through Wadala to Chembur and a set of skywalks that many don’t want. Middle-class commuters,weary of long traffic jams and the rather weak harbour line of Central Railway,want to know precisely what the monorail will offer. “But the MMRDA and the contractor have been showing us different plans,” complains Sharad Kumar. “There is no transparency on skywalks either.”

If there’s one other issue that has been in the news as consistently as the redevelopment of slums,it’s pollution. From industrial pollution caused by the chemical units in Chembur to the Deonar dumping ground that’s located closer to habitation than permissible anywhere in the developed world and from a Chembur group’s public interest litigation against the health hazards created by the dumping ground to environmentalists’ despair at the dangers posed to the fragile ecosystem of the Mahul creek,the ambient air quality is a complaint in most parts of this seat.

“The pollution from the RCF area is felt as far as Anushakti Nagar,” says Sharad Kumar,a Wadala resident and trustee of Action for Good Governance and Networking In India (AGNI).

Dr Akalpita Paranjpe,a Chembur resident and candidate from the Bharat Uday Mission,a recently registered political party,says: “We have swallowed the sea and we’re talking about clogging the river.” A former scientific officer at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center,Paranjpe took voluntary retirement in 2007 to set up Bharat Uday Mission,along with her husband Shreeniwas Paranjpe who retired from the International Atomic Energy Agency,Vienna. Vast salt pan lands in this constituency have disappeared,she says.

“I think our national issues,including the one of pollution,need to be thought about in a scientific manner to find solutions. And for that we need the right people at the top,” says Paranjpe.

Mumbai
South Central
* 17 lakh voters
* Nature of constituency: Large tracts of slums,but significant middle class voters
* Who’s contesting: Eknath Gaikwad (Congress),Suresh Gambhir (Shiv Sena),Pravin Barve (BSP),Shweta Parulekar (MNS)
* Political history: From Ahilyabai Rangnekar (CPM) to Madhu Dandavate (Janata Party) and later veteran Parliamentarian Sharad Dighe,the erstwhile Mumbai North Central constituency has seen a variety of political leaders
* Impact of delimitation: In addition to Dharavi and Mahim,Chembur and Anushakti Nagar segments have been added to this seat,bringing in a few thousand more slum votes and also a large number of middle class voters
* Watch out for: Eknath Gaikwad has earned a reputation of being easily accessible,but middle class voters have a grouse that he mainly focused on the slums