Panel to untangle Dharavi project

The Committee of Secretaries discussing the Rs 15,000-crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project on Wednesday decided to appoint a subcommittee that will submit a report within 15 days on how to take forward the project that has been caught in a series of tangles. It will include the principal secretaries of the state housing,finance and urban development departments and the metropolitan commissioner.

With seven consortiums of realty majors disqualified for not submitting memorandums of understanding between various consortium partners before the set deadline,the subcommittee will now take a decision on whether the tendering process should continue with the seven remaining bidders or whether fresh tenders should be called.

Late last year,five years after the government resolution to implement the project,an expert panel submitted an alternative plan to resolve what they called basic conceptual flaws. A new proposal,involving carving up the 239-hectare slum into 32 sectors instead of five,was presented to the Chief Minister. Another key aspect was an assertion that slumdwellers’ consent must be taken for any redevelopment project. The subcommittee will take a final decision on these details too,officials said.