Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the Dharavi Experience Centre near Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex on October 2, giving residents and other stakeholders physical and digital previews of the homes, workplaces, roads, open spaces and social infrastructure proposed under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project.
The centre has been established at the PMGP Colony’s H Block near BKC. According to the report by Mid-Day, it presents the redevelopment plan through models and digital displays intended to show how Dharavi’s neighbourhoods and built environment are expected to change.
Fadnavis said the centre would not merely display blueprints but would allow residents to experience their future homes, neighbourhoods and workplaces. He said the initiative would help address rumours, misconceptions and incomplete information and create an atmosphere of trust around the redevelopment project.
After inspecting the facility, the chief minister said the centre would provide information on what Dharavi is today and how its structure is intended to evolve. The displays include rehabilitated homes, industrial spaces, roads, open grounds, social amenities and employment opportunities connected with the redevelopment plan.
Fadnavis also described Dharavi as a major economic engine rather than only a residential settlement. He referred to the pottery industry in Kumbharwada, leather businesses, food processing, plastic recycling and micro, small and medium enterprises operating in the area.
He said the redevelopment plan would seek to preserve these industries while providing better-planned workspaces. The project, he added, was intended to support comprehensive urban transformation while retaining Dharavi’s existing social, cultural and economic identity.
The centre is expected to serve residents, project stakeholders and urban planning researchers by bringing information about the proposed transformation together at one location. Its opening comes as the redevelopment project faces the practical challenge of communicating how rehabilitation housing, commercial activity and social infrastructure will fit into Dharavi’s future urban form.
The inauguration was attended by Adani Group Managing Director Pranav Adani, BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, Mumbai Slum Rehabilitation Authority CEO Mahendra Kalyankar, Dharavi Redevelopment Project CEO and SRA Secretary Vipin Paliwal, and Anil Sardana, CEO of Adani Navbharat Developers Private Limited, the special purpose vehicle executing the project.
The centre’s displays and information services will now form part of the authorities’ engagement with residents and other stakeholders as the Dharavi redevelopment plan progresses.
