BMC to lose premium revenue of ₹5,000 cr in Dharavi, claims Aaditya

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Monday accused the state government of making arbitrary provisions in the bidding document of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, claiming this would cost the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ₹5,000 crore in revenue.

Thackeray said that, according to the bid document, regardless of who owned the land, a premium of 25% will be paid by the special purpose vehicle (in this case, the Adani Group-led Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd or DRPPL), to the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP), the state-owned planning authority for the redevelopment project, and to the Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA).

This is a departure from the rules, which require the developer in a slum rehabilitation scheme to pay 25% of the ready reckoner rate as premium on the area occupied by the project, to the land owner, Thackeray pointed out. “In Dharavi, around 70% of the land belongs to the BMC. So, the BMC should receive the premium from the Dharavi rehabilitation project,” said Thackeray.

He added that when the bidding document was published to invite tenders for the Dharavi redevelopment project, the provision regarding payment of premium to the owner of the land had been bypassed. He said he had written to BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani about the loss of premium, on October 2, but had not received any response. HT spoke to a senior BMC official, who confirmed that since the BMC owns a large portion of the land in Dharavi, the corporation stands to lose the premium revenue.

With assembly elections around the corner, Thackeray trained his guns on the ruling Mahayuti alliance, saying that “the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) would review the entire Dharavi project when it comes to power”. He alleged that chief minister Ekanth Shinde “has been looting Mumbai and Maharashtra” and has decided to “gift Mumbai to Adani”.

The Sena (UBT) leader remarked, “This is not personal. Whoever is capable of executing the Dharavi project should be appointed but it must be done in a fair manner. We are firm that Adani will not get these extraordinary benefits and concessions, including the TDR (Transferable Development Rights).”

He also alleged that Shinde had deliberately held the civic elections in abeyance for two years so that he could take arbitrary decisions. “We will not spare those who looted Mumbai and Maharashtra,” said Thackeray.

HT’s attempts to contact DRPPL CEO SVR Srinivas and BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani were unsuccessful.

Rahul Shewale, former MP and leader of the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Shinde, refuted Thackeray’s allegations, and claimed the BMC would not lose any revenue. “Aaditya Thackeray’s allegations are baseless and it shows his lack of understanding of the subject. There is no question of the BMC losing revenue. The Dharavi Redevelopment Project is the planning authority in his project and it will transfer the premium revenue to the BMC. The DRP was appointed as the planning authority for the Dharavi project by the Congress-NCP government, not by the Mahayuti government,” said Shewale.

Aaditya slams govt on infra projects

Thackeray further criticised the state government for approving “too many infrastructure projects without proper planning and financial discipline”. He also criticised the government for the ₹20,000-crore cost escalation in the Pune Ring Road project, and for unpaid dues to government contractors worth over ₹40,000 crore.