Residents say it will be death sentence to move to Mumbai’s fringe areas where garbage and waste is dumped or treated. Dharavi redevelopment plan: Resettlement is leading to fear
While the plan promises formal housing for eligible residents and commercial opportunities for developers, it leaves out around 50,000 to 100,000 residents, labelled “ineligible” for lacking proper documentation.
Many of these people are slated for relocation to other areas, including a 124-acre plot within Mumbai’s Deonar dumping ground. Other proposed sites for ineligible residents include Mother Dairy land in Kurla, salt pan land in Mulund, near Aksa Beach in Malad, Arthur Salt Work land in Kanjurmarg, and Jenkins Salt Work land off the Eastern Express Highway.
When asked if Jain would be willing to shift from Dharavi to the Deonar relocation site, he refused and said, “Mumbai’s waste goes to the Deonar dumping ground. If Dharavi’s people are shifted there, we will die of health issues. Does the government work to kill people? My friends who live in Govandi (where Deonar dumping ground is located) are often seen visiting hospitals quite frequently.”
Each day, around 600 tonnes of new waste is dumped here. A Central Pollution Control Board report submitted to the National Green Tribunal in 2024 states that the landfill emits more than 6,202 kg of methane per hour, ranking it among the top 22 methane emission hotspots in India.
These emissions, along with periodic fires and leachate seepage, pose major health risks for nearby residents.
“We want development in Dharavi. A better life, yes – but not at the cost of our lives,” says Jain. “We are for development, if we are allowed to stay where we already live, among our people.”
Isha Lohia
23/07/2025