Dharavi Redevelopment update

According to the Maharashtra government’s Rs 9,350-crore Dharavi redevelopment project's revised bid documents, builders will not have an opportunity to build high-rises to house slum-dwellers. The fresh bid document puts a ceiling of G+7 (ground plus seven floors) on most buildings that will come up. Only in exceptional cases where the building has 25 metres or more of open space around it, the state will allow G+10 structures. The revised documents also lay emphasis on ‘green’ buildings.On Friday, Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (Mhada) revised the conditions for bidding and explained the revised parameters to bidders. The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), which is the designated nodal agency for the project, has shortlisted 19 consortia comprising three companies each for the technical bid round. But now the technical bids will be called only when the revised parameters are finalised.Developers who have submitted bids for the project were hoping for a bonanza from the state government in terms of permission to raise high rises. This would have given builders more surplus space for commercial exploitation, sources said. Vertical growth in Dharavi was expected more since the government has allowed an incentive floor space index (FSI) of 4 for the project. Also, the size of each tenement that a beneficiary would get has been increased to 269 square feet of carpet area from 225 square feet.MHADA has incorporated mandatory ecohousing norms in the revised document to ensure sustainable development. The other change made by MHADA indicates the state government’s recent emphasis on cluster development approach.According to this approach, the developers are asked to provide not only for redevelopment of old buildings but also create infrastructure. In this context, the bidders have been provided with BMC’s reports on infrastructure like roads, water supply, sewerage and storm water drains. The selected bidders will have to plan and design the infrastructure based on these reports in consultation with Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).For instance, the 12 metre distance between two rehabilitation buildings should be considered as road or passages for access to these buildings, when the length of the access way exceeds 50m. Besides, individual house unit should be provided with separate toilet and bathing space living room, kitchen and bedroom, the bid document says.