Aaditya Thackeray: 80 per cent of Dharavi families may lose rehab rights, pushed to dumpyard

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray. PIC/ @AUThackeray ON X

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Monday visited Kumbharwada in Mumbai's Dharavi and raised strong concerns over the eligibility criteria under the Dharavi Redevelopment Plan.

In a detailed post on X, Thackeray highlighted the historical and cultural significance of Kumbharwada, calling it "not just a slum but a village of potters," where families have lived for over four to five generations since the 1880s.

"This 12.5-acre settlement is home to hardworking families, many from Somnath district in Gujarat, as well as others from Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and various communities and faiths, all coexisting as one vibrant Kumbharwada," Thackeray wrote.

Criticising the new guidelines under the redevelopment scheme, he alleged that nearly 80 per cent of the families now face disqualification from receiving rehabilitation homes in Dharavi. "Families will be broken apart, siblings living in the same informal home will be declared ineligible, and some structures - if not six feet in height from a certain base - will be dismissed altogether," he said.

Thackeray also alleged that the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) authority has been trying to coerce residents into a survey process to determine eligibility, which residents firmly resisted. "Nobody from the Dharavi Special Planning Agency, which seems to have unchecked authority to exploit Mumbai, has even bothered to engage with these families," he said.

He expressed concern that the affected families could be relocated to the Deonar garbage dumping ground area, where new rehabilitation buildings are being constructed. "These people, whose identity and livelihood are tied to pottery, cannot simply be shoved into high-rises. Their homes and workspaces are interconnected," Thackeray emphasised.

Listing the residents' demands, Thackeray asserted that all families who have lived there for generations must be deemed eligible for rehabilitation within Dharavi itself. "Their 12 acres should not be taken from them under the pretext of development. We will fight for justice and ensure their voices are heard," he concluded.

The DRP is an urban renewal initiative to support the overall development of Mumbai. This project aims to develop the Dharavi area, Asia's largest slum, into a well-planned township.