Dharavi hutments razed as 45 families resist rehab terms

The Story in Brief

Eleven hutments in Dharavi’s Meghwadi-Ganesh Nagar were demolished on Thursday while 45 families refused to vacate and stormed the Dharavi Redevelopment Project office in protest. Of 125 households served eviction notices, 80 accepted temporary shifting with rent offers of Rs 18,000 for ground floor and Rs 15,000 for upper storey tenements plus Rs 5,000 moving allowance. The dissenting residents say they were promised key-to-key rehabilitation but have not seen a master plan or signed any agreement, leaving them unsure whether they will get a flat in Dharavi itself.

The DRP told NDTV Profit that 12 of 16 hutments on Thursday were vacated voluntarily after counselling; four were removed with police help. BMC plans to lay a sewer line through the area to connect to a new wastewater treatment facility, aiming to stop untreated sewage flowing into the Mithi river. So far 379 of 3,500 hutments in Sector 6 have been demolished, 890 more vacated, and scrutiny of remaining structures continues.