Due to high-profile financial difficulties and claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's associates gave Indian billionaire Gautam Adani preferential treatment, residents of one of Asia's largest slums are becoming more concerned about his ability to deliver on his promise to rehouse a million people.
The Dharavi slum, which is almost three-quarters the size of Central Park in New York City, was a prominent location in Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning 2008 film "Slumdog Millionaire." Close to Mumbai's international airport and high-rise buildings housing multinational corporations, it contrasts with India's growth boom with open sewers and communal restrooms.
The Maharashtra state government approved Adani's $614 million contract proposal to revamp the slum, which is famed for making leather products, in July, after years of unsuccessful attempts. As a result, Adani is in charge of the plans to reconstruct Dharavi.
On state-owned property, Adani Group plans to destroy what it calls an area with "unhygienic, deplorable" conditions and erect new skyscrapers to house citizens and their companies. According to consultancy Liases Foras, Adani may spend up to $12 billion transforming Dharavi in exchange for development rights that might generate up to $24 billion in income.
The Dharavi slum, which is almost three-quarters the size of Central Park in New York City, was a prominent location in Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning 2008 film "Slumdog Millionaire." Close to Mumbai's international airport and high-rise buildings housing multinational corporations, it contrasts with India's growth boom with open sewers and communal restrooms.
The Maharashtra state government approved Adani's $614 million contract proposal to revamp the slum, which is famed for making leather products, in July, after years of unsuccessful attempts. As a result, Adani is in charge of the plans to reconstruct Dharavi.
On state-owned property, Adani Group plans to destroy what it calls an area with "unhygienic, deplorable" conditions and erect new skyscrapers to house citizens and their companies. According to consultancy Liases Foras, Adani may spend up to $12 billion transforming Dharavi in exchange for development rights that might generate up to $24 billion in income.
