Dharavi redevelopment plan: MHADA’s search for project consultant gets longer

The MHADA has been unable to get a project management consultant for Dharavi’s Sector 5.

Changes made to eligibility criteria, hoping for better response: Officials (Source: Express Archive)

Despite having started work on a fraction of the much-delayed Dharavi redevelopment plan, the state housing authority’s efforts to get a management consultant on board for the project have drawn a blank.

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has been unable to get a project management consultant for Dharavi’s Sector 5, out of the five sectors, which the authority is developing, despite having attempted to tender out the contract on two occasions. MHADA is currently in its third attempt at tendering out the project. The authority had floated the first tender in May.

N K Sudhanshu, chief officer of MHADA’s Mumbai board, said, “The first time we got three responses. One firm was disqualified, while quotations of the other two were very high. The second time, only one company responded to the tender. We have now made changes to the eligibility criteria so that we get a better response.”

He said that the authority had a pre-bid meeting on Thursday in the third round of tendering and six potential bidders had participated. “So, hopefully, we will have a better response this time around,” added Sudhanshu.

The authority is looking for a project management consultant to prepare a detailed plan based on the layout for Dharavi’s Sector 5, coordinate with different agencies for clearances, supervise the work of contractors and help in determining the eligibility of slum residents, among others.

A MHADA official, who did not wish to be named, said, “The response has been poor so far. Private firms could be a little sceptical about getting involved because there have been protests, opposition, changes in the plans and so on.”

Ahead of the local municipal elections in Mumbai in 2012, and keeping in mind the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections of 2014, the previous Congress-NCP government had given the mandate of redeveloping Sector 5 to MHADA. The area demarcated as Sector 5 had the fewest encumbrances by way of opposing slum-dwellers, commercial and industrial units.

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Further, with MHADA actually owning a sizeable portion of the land to be redeveloped, the government intended to show some
activity on the project.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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