Shiv Sena MP urges Oppn not to oppose Dharavi redevelopment for political mileage

Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale from Mumbai South Central Lok Sabha seat, who is likely to be renominated, has appealed to the opposition not to oppose the redevelopment of Dharavi slum only for scoring some political points.

Dharavi is one of the six Assembly constituencies in Mumbai South Central and the redevelopment is a leading electoral plank to be flagged off by the MahaYuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi during campaigning.

"Don't try to stop the Dharavi redevelopment process by spreading false information just for the sake of politics. Otherwise the people of Dharavi and future generations will never forgive you,"warned Shewale. He further said, "People are being misled by the opposition by spreading false information against the survey that has started in Dharavi.’’

Shewale’s statement came days after the Congress and Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray stepped up their attack against the Dharavi redevelopment.

Further, his appeal to the opposition coincided with the launch of survey by the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd (DRPPL), a joint venture between the Maharashtra government and the Adani Group, to collect data from lakhs of informal tenement residents of Dharavi. The survey started from Kamla Raman Nagar in Dharavi on Monday.

"The opposition was shocked by the positive responses given by the Dharavikars during the survey. Therefore, they have started spreading confusion among the people by making baseless allegations. Kamala Raman Nagar is a part of the Dharavi Notified Area and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority had conducted a survey here before,’’ said Shewale.

He said that since the Dharavi Redevelopment Project has been given the status of a special project, everyone here will get a home based on the state government’s decision regarding eligible and ineligible residents.

He urged the Dharavikars to cooperate during the ongoing survey without falling prey to false propaganda.