Question mark on rehab of families in Adani Dharavi project, landfill cleanup faces delays

A Maharashtra government project to relocate residents from Dharavi in Deonar, home to the largest and oldest landfill in Mumbai, is facing delays due to bureaucratic hurdles. Work on clearing a portion of the 99-year-old landfill has yet to begin, marking a delay of over six months from the initial deadline. Despite the deadline for all approvals being set for January 2026, five of the seven statutory clearances are still pending.

This has raised questions about the timeline for housing thousands of families on the Dharavi site, as all residents are expected to receive housing within seven years of the masterplan approval in May 2025. The bio remediation work is now expected to begin only by November, leaving the 2029 completion deadline in doubt. The project, a joint venture between the state government and the Adani Group, was earmarked for 124 acres in Deonar in October 2024.

Adani Navbharat Developers Private Limited, executing the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, stated that construction will commence only after obtaining all statutory green approvals and receiving expert certification that the site is safe for habitation.