The Dharavi redevelopment project is set to begin construction of 4,000 rental homes on the former Mother Dairy land in Kurla within a month, according to information provided by Dharavi Redevelopment Project Secretary Vipin Paliwal to Loksatta. The homes are intended for Dharavi residents classified as ineligible for rehabilitation within the project’s main settlement component.
The Kurla construction is part of a wider plan under which the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, or DRP, aims to complete 10,000 rehabilitation homes by 2030 in its first phase. The plan includes separate housing arrangements for eligible Dharavi residents and rental homes outside Dharavi for residents who do not qualify under the applicable rehabilitation criteria.
The proposed Kurla homes mark a significant shift in the rehabilitation structure described for the project. While eligible Dharavi residents will be rehabilitated within the redevelopment framework, ineligible residents will also be provided housing through a rental-based scheme. The source report describes this as the first time that ineligible residents are being included in a rehabilitation arrangement under a slum rehabilitation project of this kind.
The DRP has sought vacant land at multiple locations across Mumbai to create housing for these residents. Land at Mulund, the former Mother Dairy site in Kurla and other locations has been made available to the project for housing construction, according to the report. The immediate construction activity, however, is planned at the Kurla site, where 4,000 homes are expected to be taken up first.
Further work on the available sites is being carried out by the DRP and Adani Navbharat Developers Private Limited, or ANDPL, a company associated with the Adani Group. The report states that both agencies have begun the next stage of action for housing construction on the land made available to the project.
The rental housing component is aimed at addressing a central administrative challenge in the Dharavi redevelopment process: the need to provide a housing solution for residents who are not eligible for rehabilitation within the redeveloped Dharavi area. Instead of leaving these residents outside the project’s housing framework, the plan places them in rental homes at sites outside Dharavi.
The implementation timeline released through the DRP secretary’s statement includes two immediate milestones: construction of the 4,000 homes at Kurla is expected to begin within a month, while the first phase target is to complete 10,000 rehabilitation homes by 2030. The report does not provide details on the individual size of the homes, rental rates, construction costs, allotment process or the exact completion schedule for the Kurla buildings.
The next step is the start of physical construction at the Kurla Mother Dairy land within the stated one-month period. Progress at the Kurla and other identified sites will determine how the rental housing plan is implemented for ineligible Dharavi residents alongside the wider redevelopment programme.
