The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will soon begin a fresh headcount of Dharave Sector 5 residents. The housing board,which was recently told that it will be allowed to redevelop one of the five sectors in the slum sprawl,is now aiming to start construction at site in another six months. According to the previous survey that was carried out by non-government organisation Mashal,there are a total of 9,289 families living in the sector close to Mahim Nature Park. Of the total 62-hectare Sector 5,only 23 hectares will come under redevelopment and is expected to yield an additional 5,000 flats for public housing. The remaining area includes private land,already developed areas,areas falling under ONGC or BEST and the nature park. In a private SRA project,the developer usually pays the slumdwellers who settled after the cut-off date,but we cannot ignore the many residents living in Dharavi who are technically ineligible. Hence,MHADA will be carrying out a fresh survey of its own that will take into account even those who have settled there post the cut-off date of 2000 or those staying on mezzanine floors, said a senior MHADA official. The official added that since MHADA already has 2,000-odd transit camps at Dharavi,once the eligibility criteria is decided,the shifting of residents and construction work is expected to start within six months. While the transit camps are readily available,according to our calculations,the construction cost of each new flat will work out to around Rs 5 lakh in case of seven storey structures and over Rs 10 lakh if we are forced to go for highrise construction, he added. Principal Secretary for Housing Gautam Chatterjee said the work of appointing a project management consultant (PMC),who will work out the details and a sustainable financial model,will go on concurrently even as issues such as eligibility criteria are sorted out. This way,MHADA will be able to appoint a contractor as soon as PMC submits its plan, he said. MHADA officials are expected to meet on Friday to discuss the roadmap for Dharavi Sector 5.
