Dharavi is also called ‘heart’ of Mumbai and ‘Chhota India’. This colony is situated amidst the tall buildings of Mumbai. The British settled Dharavi in 1882. The purpose of establishing it was to provide affordable accommodation to the labourers. Gradually people started settling here and more slums were formed.
It is the largest settlement in Asia and the third largest in the world, where more than 10 lakh people live in 2.5 square kilometers. There are 58 thousand families and about 12 thousand commercial complexes in Dharavi. In 1999, when there was a coalition government of BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, a proposal to redevelop Dharavi was made for the first time. After this, in 2003-04, the Maharashtra government came up with the redevelopment plan of Dharavi.
For Gautam Adani, Dharavi is not just a business model, he has also been a witness to that era when people in this dirty slum were busy weaving the dreams of their lives with countless problems. He says, ‘Mumbai is my second home. I don’t consider myself an outsider here. There is no outsider in Mumbai because Mumbai welcomes everyone with open heart. Talking about Mumbai, I feel proud and privileged to have the opportunity to lead the redevelopment of Dharavi.
Of all the work our group does, Dharavi is closest to my heart. For me, Dharavi is not a project to make money, but an opportunity to give back and be a part of the biggest human-centric transformation this planet has ever seen. I consider it my responsibility to change the lives of millions of people and build a new Dharavi that is respectful, secure and inclusive of all.’
In the late 70s, like all the youth of the country, Gautam Adani came to Mumbai with the dream of doing something in life and his dream was to do something big in the diamond business. In his hurry to fulfill his dreams, he also came in contact with Dharavi. At that time, there were only a crowd of humans who were continuously struggling to keep their dreams alive in adverse circumstances. Even at that time, Dharavi was such a sea of people, in which diverse beliefs, cultures and languages of the country met and then became unified. Actually, Dharavi has made a big contribution in knowing the ground truth in Gautam Adani’s life. He came to know quite easily after passing through the streets of Dharavi, what adversities, problems and difficulties a human being faces in life and to what extent a person can struggle to save and embellish his existence. Gautam Adani says, ‘Worked for four years in Mumbai in diamond business. Mumbai is a unique place, it is a city where every heartbeat resonates.”
What is Adani’s promise to Dharavi?
Adani Group has got the contract for Dharavi Redevelopment, the Group promises that it will not only provide better living space to the people living here, but will also work to protect and promote the small and micro units here. Adani Group intends to transform Mumbai’s Dharavi into a ‘modern city centre’.
Rehabilitation of the people here can include many things, such as developing training centers for upskilling, product and service based common facility centres, research centres, data centres, MSME help desks etc. So that the industry here can be saved and an online market place can also be created for them. For living, an open area with facilities like gas, water, electricity, cleanliness, drainage, health, entertainment and a world class school and hospital can also be developed in this area. It may seem impossible to you because this work has to be done for about 7 lakh people, but Adani Group has expertise in handling big projects.
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