On Monday, the Maharashtra government authorized the leasing of 255.9 acres of environmentally sensitive salt-pan property from the Center to accommodate those deemed ineligible for housing under the Adani Group-led Dharavi Redevelopment Project.
After the Maharashtra government asked it to lease three salt-pan land parcels in Kanjurmarg, Bhandup, and Mulund for the rehabilitation project, the Center had approved the transfer on September 2.
Environmental groups and Dharavi residents who demand an in-situ rehabilitation condemned the proposal, calling it "an ecologically terrible decision."
Low-lying sections of land known as "salt pans" absorb rainwater and keep Mumbai from flooding too much.
The state government intends to build rental, inexpensive, and affordable housing for people who were not qualified for Dharavi's rehabilitated dwellings using the salt-pan land it recently bought. Tenants whose buildings were built prior to January 1, 2000, as well as those residing on the ground floor, were eligible to purchase properties in Dharavi; other residents will be housed in rental developments located in other parts of the city.
About 13,000 acres of salt-pan land make up Maharashtra; of these, 5,379 acres are in Mumbai, and 1,781 acres may be developed in accordance with DCPR 2034. Documents obtained by HT reveal that 88.365 acres of salt-pan property in Maharashtra are home to commercial and residential structures.
Of them, 5.822 acres are encroached upon, while 44.563 acres are disputed.
On 6.216 acres in Mumbai, there are structures situated above salt pans at Wadala, Bhandup, Nahur, Trombay, Malwani, and Goregaon. Roads have been constructed over salt pans spanning 10.969 acres in Wadala, Nahur, Trombay, and Mulund. Smaller land lots in the city are contested and being encroached upon.
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