Jairam Ramesh slams PM Narendra Modi over 'Dharavi Redevelopment Project'; claims true beneficiary is 'Adani conglomerate'

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the Dharavi Redevelopment Project in Mumbai. Ramesh has claimed that the true beneficiary of the project is the 'Adani conglomerate'.

Mumbai/ Hyderabad:Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the Dharavi Redevelopment Project saying its true beneficiary was "PM's closest friend".

Ramesh was referring to Gautam Adani, the Chairperson of the Adani Group. "The unique quality of the Modani MegaScam is not just that the Prime Minister is channelling lakhs of crores (or trillions as the PM says) towards his close friends and creating a Modi-Made Monopoly (3M), but that these lakhs of crores are coming straight from the pockets of ordinary Indians. We already know that the inflated cost of over-invoiced coal imports is being borne by lakhs of electricity consumers and that middle-class travellers are paying Modani's inflated airport charges," Ramesh said in a statement issued by Congress. The statement was re-posted by Jairam Ramesh on his X (formerly known as Twitter).

"It is now becoming even more clear that the true beneficiary of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project are not the people of Mumbai, or of Dharavi, but the PM's closest friend, aided and abetted by Devendra Fadnavis. Despite official and unofficial claims, the reality is that the Dharavi project will result in the Adani conglomerate being given a mammoth 10.5 crore square feet of real estate Transferable Development Rights (TDR) equivalent to 6-7 times the area of Dharavi. This has been presented in a detailed study by Mumbai Regional Congress Committee President and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaekwad.

"TDR is a transferable credit that allows builders who use land, for instance, in approved slum development projects to be compensated with extra construction rights in other areas. We have previously asked the PM to explain how the Adani conglomerate came to win the lucrative Dharavi project after an earlier tender - won by a different developer - was cancelled and rebid. In the earlier tender, the developer was offered a TDR equivalent to 5 crore square feet, but this has now jumped by 110%, which could give the Adani conglomerate a profit margin as high as 434%," claimed Ramesh.

"These supernormal profits have been enabled by Fadnavis' modifications of Development Control Regulations on 5 November, 2018 and 28 September, 2022 that have the effect of handing the Adani conglomerate a huge TDR bank. By doing away with indexation, these government resolutions give the Adani conglomerate the freedom to sell TDR anywhere in Mumbai, including south and central Mumbai and that too at much higher rates than previously allowed. All Mumbai developers will now be compelled to buy 40% of their TDR requirement from the Adani conglomerate at exorbitant rates," added Ramesh.

For the record, Dharavi is a diverse, thriving community of seven lakh people. "It has a large number of small, independent businesses that generate an estimated 100 crore in annual income to the government. Yet documents show that most of these people will be evicted out and only 54,461 slum dwellers and 9,522 residents in chawls and buildings will receive a rehabilitation home within Dharavi," claimed the senior Congress leader.

"Furthermore, there has been no independent citywide assessment of what impact the creation of this mammoth TDR will have on Mumbai, in contravention of prevailing rules and court orders. This lucrative reudi for the Adani conglomerate could have a huge negative impact on the quality of life in Mumbai, for rich and poor alike. And the people are well aware of this - a protest against this MegaScam was held on December 16th, led by senior leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi and attended by thousands of Dharavi residents," added Ramesh.

"This is yet another example of how 'Modani' is getting enriched at the expense of the people of India. And a reminder of how the biggest loot in modern India continues in full public gaze, with the complete support of the PM and the ruling party," Ramesh concluded.

Meanwhile, the Adani conglomerate is yet to respond to the allegations made by Jairam Ramesh.