We love Dharavi. We live Dharavi

Most development plans are for five or ten years This one is a sevenyear R1lakhcrore project to redevelop Dharavi mdash popularly referred to as one of Asiarsquos largest slumRs 1 lakh crore may still be too little considering all the associated costs transit rentals construction operating expenses and moreTake just the task of constructing 30000 flats and thousands of small industrial spaces mdash that alone would likely exceed the current budgetBy the way Orangi Town in Karachi and Ciudad Neza in Mexico have larger populations so letrsquos not assume Dharavi is the biggest slum in Asia mdash or the worldWersquore told the redevelopment plan will integrate residential commercial and industrial zones rehabilitate residents and support livelihoods through dedicated spaces for small industriesOkay okayhellip whatrsquos newAs usual therersquos talk of ldquopreserving open spacesrdquo such as Mahim Nature Park which conveniently is outside the redevelopment zone anywayAnd this project is being benchmarked against Singaporersquos best practices in slum rehabilitationSmall problem Singapore flattened its slums mdash some say mercilessly mdash in the 1970s It launched a massive urban renewal program to tackle housing shortagesThe Housing and Development Board HDB led the charge armed with the Singapore Land Acquisition Act of 1967 which enabled compulsory land acquisition for rapid redevelopmentBut thatrsquos nothing compared to what happened to a true urban marvel mdash Kowloon Walled City or Hak NamOriginally a military settlement built by the Qing government in the 19th century it eventually became a dense and lawless enclave During World War II its stone walls were demolished by the JapaneseWhat followed was chaosBy 1987 the British and Chinese authorities decided it had to go In 1993 demolition began Over 500 interconnected buildings constructed without architects engineers or safety codes were brought downSunlight rarely reached the inner labyrinths Crime illegal gambling drug activity and food factories under horrifying conditions flourished Still it was home to 30000 peopleMany residents were rehoused by the Hong Kong Housing Authority mdash some willingly others forciblyVery much like our current situationIncidentally the average tenement size was around 23 sq m just like in Dharavi todayBut herersquos the twist Kowloon wasnrsquot redeveloped into more highrise apartments It was transformed into the Kowloon Walled City Park mdash a public space with preserved heritage interactive exhibits and open skiesNo lsquosale componentrsquoNo 21 or 42 sq m rehab flatsNo glass steel concrete jungleCut to DharaviReports say itrsquos going to be the usual story mdash exploiting the Floor Area Ratio FAR and Floor Space Index FSI of the landThe 600 acres of Dharavi will be filled with the typical steel glass aluminium and cementconcrete structures And the missing infrastructure That will probably be ldquodiscoveredrdquo and added miraculously a few years laterAs always lakhs of lsquoeligiblersquo and lsquoineligiblersquo residents will be moved to temporary accommodations only to be brought back after years maybeThere is no binding policy that mandates residents affected by slum redevelopment be resettled in the same area they once livedPeople commute hundreds of kilometres every day for work or education A few extra kilometres Thatrsquos considered normalTo contest relocation Project Affected Persons PAPs must prove that the site theyrsquore being shifted to is so uninhabitable that no reasonable person can live there mdash as observed by the Bombay High Court in 2023 in a different PAP case within MumbaiThere are policies in placeMaharashtra PAP Rehabilitation Act 1999National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy 2007PAPs can even be given lump sum compensation to settle wherever they choose mdash arguably for a better quality of lifeA few years ago for the Hyderabad Metro instead of incentivising TOD Transit Oriented Development around a 500metre radius from stations authorities reportedly offered land outside the city for the contractor to develop mdash a smarter more sustainable modelSimilar ideas could spare the state and developers from building temporary accommodations on salt pans mangroves and ecologically sensitive zones only to replace them later with ldquopermanentrdquo buildings and freesale towersReal urban development is not just concrete steel and glass It must be measured by the quality of life it brings to its residentsMumbai has a chance here to think differentlyNot going down the conventional redevelopment route might actually be less expensive for everyone It will save our salt pans Our mangroves Our air qualityImagine a Kowloon Walled City Parkstyle transformation Dharavi turned into a vast public park and theme park complete with supporting facilities mdash local housing guest accommodations medical centres repair hubs maintenance servicesBy the way Mumbai is one of the few major metros in India that lacks a large municipal public park accessible to all Sanjay Gandhi National Park is a reserved area with limited public accessCompare it to KolkataEco Park ndash 480 acresMaidan ndash 400 acresRabindra Sarobar ndash 192 acresCentral Park Salt Lake ndash 152 acresSubhash Sarobar ndash 73 acresVictoria Memorial Grounds ndash 64 acresIn the global perspectiveDisneyrsquos Animal Kingdom in Florida spans over 500 acres roughly the size of DharaviIt cost Rs 300 crore to build It generates about Rs 3000 crore in revenue per yearItrsquos not too late The idea is simpleTransform Dharavi into a multiuse open urban zone mdash with special economic education entertainment medical sports and nonpolluting industrial units Maybe even a bird park like Jurong in Singapore Or a massive openair aquarium The possibilities are endless And it would be a rare open green space mdash in the very heart of MumbaiNo doubt this idea will likely be ignored by those wedded to the usual redevelopment model But in the public interest it deserves serious considerationIn the future we may get some open spaces mdash but only if todayrsquos administration and corporate consortium have the foresight and vision to build something extraordinaryOf course the maximum allowable FAR and FSI will still be available for ldquouserdquo as alwaysAnd by 2032 wersquoll have a redeveloped Dharavi mdash one way or anotherUnless legal delays interveneJagdeep Desai is an architect academic and founder trustee chairman of the Forum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai