WEF: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde terms Dharavi revamp as ‘eco-friendly development’

Dharavi development is the biggest program to rehabilitate around 56,000 families which will help reduce pollution and other environmental side-effects

PGurus Newsdesk

January 18, 2023

Dharavi development is the biggest program to rehabilitate around 56,000 families which will help reduce pollution and other environmental side-effects

Davos WEF 2023: Mumbai will see a change in the next two years, says Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde raised the issue of the proposed makeover of Dharavi before a dazzling global audience of influencers in the cool climes of Davos, terming it as an ‘environment-friendly‘ development project.

Addressing the Congress Centre at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF)-2023 on Tuesday evening in Switzerland, Shinde said that although Mumbai has the biggest natural forest, it is also home to the world’s largest slum, the Dharavi, literally meaning ‘quicksand’, in the south-central part.

“In order to make Mumbai slum-free, we are implementing the largest public-private-partnership (PPP) real estate program of slum redevelopment. We are providing free homes of 300 sq. feet to each slum-dweller,” informed Shinde.

He termed it the biggest program to rehabilitate around 56,000 families which will help reduce pollution and other environmental side effects.

Through slum redevelopment, Shinde claimed that the government has succeeded in saving more than 800 hectares of mangroves dotting the country’s commercial capital.

Speaking on the viability of the mega-project, the Chief Minister said that cross-subsidy is being given for the vacant spaces, and a portion of the land in these major redevelopment schemes is also being developed into parks or for afforestation purposes.

Elaborating on the peoples’ participation in these schemes, Shinde said that Mumbai generated around 2,400 MLD (million litres/ day) of sewage and around 25 percent of this wastage emanates from the slums in the city alone.

“We are taking concrete measures to control this sewage and the accompanying water pollution. Around 834 organizations in the society are creating awareness about the environment and cleanliness among the people which has succeeded to a large extent,” he added.

Now, along with these organizations or NGOs, the locals also take part in keeping public toilets and other areas clean and these efforts are improving the life and living standards of around 1.5 million families, said the Chief Minister.

Shinde made a firm commitment to continue ‘environment-friendly development, in accordance with the best principles of conservation, connectivity, and clean cities’ to lessen the impact of the changing global weather.

“We are trying to reduce carbon emissions by increasing the forest cover, solid waste management, promoting green wind and solar energy, and providing climate education at the school levels. If sustainable development is desired, PPP is necessary and Maharashtra is already leading in it,” Shinde asserted.

He also said current India’s G20 Presidency is also an added opportunity for the state to prepare the next roadmap to grapple with climate change under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and with help from the developed nations.

Conducting brisk business at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his team inked MoUs worth around Rs.88,500 crore for various projects with the potential to create over 56,000 jobs.

The prospective investors include USA’s New Era Cleantech Solution‘s Rs.20,000 crore coal gasification project (15,000 jobs) and Israel’s Rajuri Steels and Alloys subsidiary’s Rs.600 crore steel plant (1,000 jobs), both in Chandrapur.

MoUs were also signed with two UK companies — Varad Ferro Alloys will set up an Rs.1,520 crore steel project in Gadchiroli (2,000 jobs) and Rcube/Ark Data‘s investment for an Rs.12,000 crore plant in Pune (1,200 jobs) — besides Portugal’s Elite Plast AutoSystems proposing to start an Rs.400 crore plastic automotive project in Pune (2,000 jobs).

[With Inputs from IANS]

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