Congress MP Rahul Gandhi held a press conference in Mumbai 2 days before voting for the assembly elections in Maharashtra. In which he criticized the BJP government's policy regarding the redevelopment project of Dharavi in Mumbai. He took out 2 posters from the vault. One poster read 'Ek Hai To Seif Hai'. Another poster had a picture of Dharavi.
Waving both the posters, Rahul said- BJP wants to give Dharavi land to Adani. Ek hai to safe hai means Modi ji, Adani ji, Shah are one. Who is Safe – Modi ji, Adani ji. Who will be harmed – the public. He shouted. This is a very true slogan.
Rahul said that the money of Maharashtra will be given to the people of Maharashtra or to one person. Many projects were taken away from Maharashtra and moved to other states. 7 lakh crore projects were taken away. The current government of Maharashtra is stealing jobs. 5 lakh people have lost their jobs. Dharavi's future is not secure. Dharavi is getting ruined for one person.
Rahul said- Adani cannot get everything without Modi's help
- The land of Dharavi belongs to the people who live there. They have lived there for years. There are many problems with assuming and converting. Mangrove land is being stripped away. All the rules were changed for one person. The country's ports, airports, defense industry, Dharavi are all being handed over to a person who has an old relationship with the Prime Minister.
- Adani cannot do this alone. They cannot take Dharavi land from the people without taking the help of the Prime Minister. Will the wealth go to the people of Maharashtra or will it go to one person – this is the biggest issue of the election.
Dharavi Redevelopment Project and its politics…. 6 points
- About one million people live in Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slums. Government of Maharashtra and Adani Group are working together for the redevelopment of this Dharavi. About 23 thousand crore rupees are to be spent on this. Under this, people here will get flats built in 350 square feet area.
- Under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, people who settled in Dharavi before January 1, 2000 will get free permanent houses. Those who settled between 2000 and 2011 will also get houses, but they will have to pay for them.
- In 1999, the BJP-Shiv Sena government first proposed the redevelopment of Dharavi. In 2003–04, the Maharashtra government approved a project to develop Dharavi as an integrated planned township. In 2011, the Congress government prepared a master plan by canceling all tenders.
- The bid for this project was canceled by the Uddhav Thackeray government in 2019. Congress was also included in the government at that time. Eknath Shinde, who became the CM after the fall of the Uddhav government, issued fresh tenders in October 2022. Adani Group has got this project.
- Even before the assembly elections, this project has again come into controversy. Uddhav Thackeray is opposing it. The opposition coalition Mahavikas Aghadi has promised in its manifesto released on November 7 that the project will be scrapped if the government is formed. Uddhav Thackeray has said that this project will have a bad impact on Mumbai.
- In response to this, CM Eknath Shinde asked if he knew anything other than banning and closing the projects. People in Dharavi live in bad conditions. These leaders themselves live in big houses and bungalows and keep the poor in mud.
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Tiny shanties, narrow roads, when will it finally change? Guess: Flats instead of raw houses, but how after 8 months I don't know.
Mumbai's Dharavi, the third largest slum in the world and Asia. There is no data on how many people live in Dharavi. According to an estimate, around 10 lakh people live here in small huts. More than 13 thousand small businesses are running in this slum. The streets are so narrow that even a stretcher cannot enter if someone falls ill. Click to read more…
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).