No takers for Dharavi revamp project: Maharashtra may give in to developers’ demands, recalculate FSI

The state government has currently allowed an FSI of 4 in the Dharavi redevelopment project, even as other slum redevelopment schemes elsewhere in Mumbai are allowed an FSI of 3.

A senior official from the housing department said, “Developers interested in the project are claiming that the government’s FSI calculation is wrong and the permissible construction area should be more. We have shared our calculation with them, but at the same time we don’t want these issues to hamper the project at a later stage once it takes off, so we are taking a relook at it. We are also going to request the urban development department to help with the recalculation.”

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Besides the FSI, the state housing department has also agreed to freeze the rules and regulations that the project will attract all through its implementation. Several developers had made this request, saying the gestation period of the project will be long and any changes in the building construction norms, premiums, FSI and area of houses for rehabilitation will significantly impact the costing.

“Another issue that developers raised was about the required financial capacity of companies in order to be eligible for the project. Developers say the given base is very high and have requested it to be lowered. Even we agree that it might be on the higher side, so we will reconsider it,” the official said.

As per the current bid documents, the government has mandated a minimum networth of Rs 1,190 crore to Rs 1,590 crore for the four sectors of Dharavi that the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority is trying to bid out. Currently, the bids also mandate an average annual turnover for the last three years of Rs 1,430 crore to Rs 1,910 crore for the four sectors. The fifth of the five sectors is being redeveloped by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.

Officials said the tender documents will be modified after the recalculations are completed and approved by the chief minister. For now, the government has extended the last date for bid submission to May 20.
The government’s attempt to bid out the Dharavi redevelopment project had first drawn a blank when none of the interested developers submitted bids by April 20, which was originally the last date for bid submission.

The government decided to extend the deadline to May 5, and also had an interaction with prospective bidders and members of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry to understand their concerns on April 30.

The project, an ambitious vision to metamorphose Asia’s largest slum sprawl into clusters of high-rises with wide roads, open spaces and well-planned amenities, was first conceived in 2003. However, despite Dharavi being potential prime real estate, centrally located and close to the Bandra Kurla Complex, the project has had several false starts due to political opposition, frequent policy changes, design alterations and so on.