Dharavi Experience Centre: Devendra Fadnavis unveils Adani's vision for Mumbai slum

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has opened a massive, 22,500-square-foot exhibition space to show Dharavi's residents exactly what their neighbourhood will look like under the Adani Group's multi-billion-dollar redevelopment scheme.

The Dharavi Experience Centre, located at the PMGP Colony near the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), was inaugurated on Friday, 2 October, to coincide with Gandhi Jayanti. Designed to win over a skeptical public, the facility offers a direct physical preview of the proposed housing, workspaces, and infrastructure planned for one of Asia’s largest informal settlements.

"This initiative will help curb rumours, misconceptions, and incomplete information, creating an atmosphere of trust around the redevelopment," Fadnavis told reporters after inspecting the site.

Inside the model homes

At the heart of the centre are life-size, walk-through mock-ups of the proposed apartments. Visitors can explore both furnished and unfurnished versions of the 350-square-foot rehabilitation homes and the larger 500-square-foot renewal flats to see how the layouts work in practice.

Aside from the physical flats, the exhibition features a 3D digital walkthrough of the proposed township, interactive historical displays, a dedicated Dharavi anthem, and a coffee-table book celebrating the area's heritage.

For local residents, the most practical features are the digital and assisted helpdesks. These stations are designed to guide people through the complex administrative processes of the project, providing details on upcoming surveys, eligibility criteria, and resettlement documentation.

Protecting Dharavi's economic engine

Dharavi is not just a residential area; it is a sprawling industrial hub that generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Fadnavis emphasised that the state's plan does not ignore this economic reality.

"Dharavi is not just a slum; it is a major economic engine," Fadnavis said, pointing to the neighbourhood's famous Kumbharwada pottery industry, leather tanneries, food processing units, plastic recycling plants, and thousands of other micro, small, and medium enterprises.

The redevelopment plan, Fadnavis claimed, is structured to preserve these existing businesses by providing them with modernised, better-planned workspaces rather than forcing them out.

Green spaces and transport

The broader 600-acre project plans to introduce heavy infrastructure to the congested area. Key features highlighted at the centre include:

• A new Multimodal Transport Hub designed to link various public transit networks.
• The rejuvenation of the heavily polluted Mithi River.
• A 3.3-kilometre public riverfront development.
• The planting of roughly 40,000 trees to increase green cover.

The launch was attended by several high-ranking officials and executives, including Adani Group Managing Director Pranav Adani, BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, and Anil Sardana, the CEO of Adani Navbharat Developers — the joint venture executing the redevelopment. Mumbai Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) CEO Dr Mahendra Kalyankar and Dharavi Redevelopment Project CEO Vipin Paliwal were also present.