Adani Group Wins Bombay HC's Approval for Dharavi Slum Redevelopment

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): Citing weak grounds for a challenge, the Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a petition against the Maharashtra government’s decision on the Dharavi slum redevelopment project in Mumbai and upheld the tender awarded to Adani Properties Private Limited.

A division bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar dismissed a petition filed by UAE-based Seclink Technologies Corporation, saying: "The grounds raised in the petition lack force and effort. The challenge to the government's action of cancelling the earlier tender and issuing a fresh tender award fails." The Adani Group had emerged as the highest bidder for the 259-hectare Dharavi Redevelopment Project and bagged it with its Rs 5,069-crore offer in the 2022 tender process.

In the first tender issued in 2018, the petitioner company had emerged as the highest bidder with its Rs 7,200-crore offer. The Eknath Shinde government had cancelled the 2018 tender and issued a fresh one in 2022 with additional conditions. The state government decided to include 45 acres of railway land in the project for slum rehabilitation, an element not included in the original proposal.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni had recommended that the state government issue a new tender to reflect the changes and incorporate factors like the costs of acquiring this land. The state government had opposed the petitioner’s claim and maintained that the revised tender conditions were not arbitrary but were important for ensuring that the development was financially viable.

Referring to the changed economic landscape between 2019 and 2022, the state government justified its decision to cancel the 2018 tender and issue a fresh one in 2022. Seclink Technologies Corporation first challenged the cancellation of the 2018 tender and subsequently the 2022 tender award to the Adani Group. The state government had submitted before the High Court that the tender process was transparent.

Dharavi, one of the world's largest slums, is spread over 2.8 sq km of prime land near the Bandra-Kurla. Established in 1884 during the British colonial era, it initially housed expelled factories and residents from Mumbai's city centre. Its informal leather and pottery industries are estimated to employ over 100,000 people. The Dharavi redevelopment plan seeks to replace the existing informal settlements with modern housing, infrastructure, and commercial spaces.