New consultant to be appointed: Rs. 16,000-cr Dharavi project back to the drawing board.

Stalled for more than a decade, the Rs. 16,000-crore project to redevelop the Dharavi slums in Mumbai now faces a further delay, with the state government set to review the entire plan, including the method of implementation and the bid documents. While the ruling Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) already differ on the size of apartments to be given to the slumdwellers who will be relocated under the project, the latest setback for the government is that it will now have to appoint a fresh project management consultant.

The redevelopment project has been in the works since 2004 and has been a poll issue for all parties in every election conducted since then.

With consultant firm Ernst & Young walking out of the project a few months ago, Chief Executive Officer, Dharavi Redevelopment Agency, Nirmalkumar Deshmukh said the process to appoint a new consultant had begun. Ernst & Young had been entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing all public hearings, assisting with the preparation and finalisation of the Development Plan for Dharavi, the tender documents and of monitoring the actual work once it began. While the Development Plan is ready, the bid documents are yet to be finalised, and public hearings have been under way only intermittently.

Deshmukh said, “The 18-month agreement with Ernst & Young was to lapse. We requested the consultant for an extension, but the firm did not agree.” He added that the DRA decided to offer Darashaw, the firm with the second lowest bid at the time of appointing Ernst & Young, an opportunity to match the lowest quote.

'Accordingly, we sent a proposal to the state government about two months ago, seeking approval for the appointment of Darashaw so that we can go ahead with the work. We are awaiting the government’s response,' he said.

THE INDIAN EXPRESS