Slums and skyscrapers are likely the two terms that are most frequently used when individuals and officials discuss how cities develop. The slums’ destitution and skyscrapers’ sterility are the Achilles’ heels of city planners and community leaders.

1. The City of Contrasts: The Story of Mumbai's Skyscrapers to
Slum Area and Back Again
Slums and skyscrapers are likely the two terms that are most frequently used when
individuals and officials discuss how cities develop. The slums' destitution and skyscrapers'
sterility are the Achilles' heels of city planners and community leaders. They like
residential areas that are well-mixed with residences, businesses, offices, and public
amenities. This makes us think of Mumbai, India's financial hub. Mumbai has also been
referred to as the Mayanagri or the City of Dreamers, among other names. It is
understandable why this city has so much to offer, from strolls along Marine Drive at night
to enjoying chai while watching the rain from your balcony. Mumbai, however, displays
itself in two different ways. Despite Mumbai's gleaming oceanfront towers, affluent
neighbourhoods, and exciting nightlife, the city's dreadful reality is found in its slum
district.
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In a relatively short period of time, this metropolis has expanded to astounding sizes. It is
home to some of the most expensive property developments in the world, such Antilia, yet
it is also home to one of the biggest slum areas. Mumbai is home to the well-known and
largest slum in the world, Dharavi. Inside the Mumbai metropolis, which is made up of a
continuous length of smoky passageways and open sewers, it nearly seems like a different
universe.

2. The majority of residents of this city of dreams live in homes that are unfit for human
habitation. Slums and illegal settlements have sprung up everywhere. But why are so many
residents in the nation's financial centre required to live in chawls and slums, such subpar
housing structures? How did Mumbai's urban landscape develop such a stark contrast? And
what elements support its ongoing rise to prominence with each passing day? Let's
investigate.
Slums and Chawls of Mumbai
Mumbai has a wide range of unusual dwelling configurations due to necessity. Chawls and
slums are two examples of unusual dwelling arrangements that can be found all over the
world. The congestion in these densely populated areas promotes social behaviours like
public sleeping, public bathing, as well as the sharing of public amenities like water and
toilet facilities.
These housing systems, which date back to the early 1800s when Britain controlled India,
have changed to accommodate an increasing population in a constrained space. Due to the
construction of an effective public transportation system in the middle of the 19th century,
post-colonial Mumbai underwent a rapid urbanization.
With such quick expansion, the city has seen a broad variety of housing alternatives arise,
including tents, chawls, apartments, bungalows, and high-rise buildings.

3. Housing Section for Mumbai Residents
Mumbai's topography is characterized by a blur of territorial boundaries due to the city's
spontaneous proliferation of both nominally and informally built properties.
This can be anything from a six-foot stretch of usable sleeping space to an ambiguous
tenancy situation shared by three families that are "renting" the same room. Jhopad-patties
give way to illegal, only semi-permanent constructions, which in turn give way to
pavements. These buildings are connected to chawls and other sorts of subpar housing on
another spectrum. Apartments owned and rented by members of the large middle class are
located above this level, while the rich and extremely rich own the flats and houses that are
located above them.
Slum settlements typically include a variety of housing options, including tents, mud and
thatch houses, and brick and cement buildings. Each unit is frequently less than eight by
eight feet, and there are no communal amenities available. Because the impoverished that
lack stable housing might be found anywhere, neighbourhood lines do not properly
categories these residences.
People from lower socioeconomic classes and migrants who live in cities in search of work
typically reside in slums. But even once they've acquired some money and can afford to
move out, many frequently continue to live in their claustrophobic slum dwellings. During
the colonial era, these impromptu squatter homes were only found close to the areas of
employment. However, as India earned its freedom, these colonies eventually relocated to
less ideal urban districts, such wasteland or swampy places close to railroad tracks.
Colonial Mumbai's Working Class Housing
Mumbai was given to the King of England by the Portuguese in 1661. The East India
Company was given a lease on the city by the King of England two years later, in 1668, so
that it might be used for business ventures. Mumbai at that time was divided into three
sections:
 Bombay Island was home to the main castle.
 The annexation of Mahim.
 Parel, Mezagaon, Varlu, Matunga, Vadadla, Colaba, Naigaum, & Dharavi are the eight
villages that make up this area.
The castle that originally stood on Bombay Island was replaced in 1715 by a fort wall as a
result of the island's expanding population.

4. The Great Fire of 1803 destroyed a significant amount of Indian merchant property, and
the city was reorganized as a result of the increasing encroachment of village homes into
the fort area. The Indians were moved to the region north of the fort wall as a result of this
reorganization.
Additionally, it led to the British "distilling" local tribes from the fort region and forcing
development outside of the fort walls. To the north of the walled city, the British built
textile mills. Chawls grew rapidly in the 1850s & during the Cotton Boom of 1860 as a
result of this type of industrialization. These mills may be found in locations like West
Parel, Tardeo, and Lalbagh, which are now a part of Mumbai's central business area.
Mumbai's expanding middle & lower classes increased demand for residential
& commercial real estate as a result of the city's expanding manufacturing sector.
Because they could not afford to live in more ideal places, workers from lower-& middle-
class families were compelled to reside in less desirable neighbourhoods, which were
frequently adjacent to industries. This strategy led to the settlement of numerous migrant
mill workers in unsuitable neighbourhoods, resulting in segregated enclaves inside the city.
This is today known as the Mumbai slum area.
Housing in Post-Colonial Mumbai for Working Class
As a result of the inflow of migrants & refugees that happened in independent India in the
years following World War II, the scarcity of housing soon rose to the top of the list of the
nation's most urgent issues. The average number of occupants in a dwelling space has
climbed to six by 1951. Settlements in slum areas served as the issue's outward
embodiment.
The expansion of the slums received no concern from the British government. Despite the
state making relatively little investment, the economy was sustained by cheap labour,
making it a profitable scheme. The Indian government declared that it would eliminate
slums & replace them with "standard" housing for the working class when the nation
attained independence. Better housing for slum dwellers and allowing them to live
permanently on their legally or illegally invaded & annexed land continue to conflict with
one another.

5. Mumbai's slums' location and characteristics
One of the most populous and rich cities in India is Mumbai. Some of the biggest slums in
the world include Dharavi, Mankhurd-Govandi belt, Kurla-Ghatkopar belt, Dindoshi, as Well
as the Bhandup-Mulund slums. These slums' primary characteristics are:
 High Rate of Poverty
 A High Unemployment Rate
 Urban degradation on a large scale;
 Breeding Grounds for Societal Ills Such as Crime, Drug Abuse, etc.;
 High Incidence of Mental Disorders, Suicide, etc.;
 low economic status of the locals;
 inadequate infrastructure facilities;
 Issue of Acute Malnutrition
 Lack of drinkable water;
 Not Providing Essential Healthcare;
 unsanitary and unclean surroundings;
 Low level of existence or poor quality of life.

6. Top Facts about Mumbai's Slums
Mumbai has been struggling to find extra space since the colonial era. Mumbai is
surrounded by sea on three sides. The strain is increased by the continual flow of migrants
from various parts of India who have been drawn to the city by its improving economic
possibilities. Due to a dearth of affordable accommodation and an ongoing increase in
metropolitan real estate costs, formal residence is out of reach for the majority of these
migrants.
Adjacent to Dharavi is the Bandra Kurla Complex, one of Asia's richest corporate hubs. Due
to its proximity to Mumbai's two main suburban train lines, people might be able to arrive
at work promptly. Dharavi is home to a large number of thriving small businesses that
produce high-quality ceramics, plastic, leather goods for export, and embroidered clothes.
It is an extremely diverse, multi-ethnic, and multi-religious settlement. One of the most
literate slums in all of India, Dharavi has a literacy rate of 69%, according to Wikipedia.
Most slum residences are devoid of private latrines and faucets. The infrequently
maintained public facilities and pricey water sold by vendors must be paid for by residents.
Some bathrooms in Mumbai's slums lack electricity, while others lack running water. There
are a lot of slum residences with inadequate doors.
In addition to the millions of people who live in Mumbai's slums, the city also has a sizeable
number of people who are homeless and unable to get long-term accommodation. The
official figure of homeless people in the city is around a lakh. Some contend that the real
figure might be much higher.
Since the 1990s, Mumbai's state government has worked to rehabilitate the slums in order
to both free up land and address its expanding slum population. The Slum Rehabilitation
Authority allows new dwellings to be built in historically slum areas if private developers
can win the consent of the neighborhood's current residents. The developer shall provide
free housing to the tenants in the newly constructed structures. The leftover building space
might then be used to construct opulent skyscrapers that could be sold to corporations. So,
while revitalizing the neighbourhood, these slum rehabilitation projects also give
developers access to prime real estate.

7. Dharavi is the largest slum in the world.
The British built this slum in the 19th century to house the poor and industrial workers
who were migrating from rural India to Mumbai.
Because of the slum's higher-than-average concentration of Tamils (people from Tamil
Nadu), it is known as "chotta Tamil Nadu" (small Tamil Nadu).
In the 18th century, this area was merely a mangrove marsh. Around the turn of the 19th
century, many hundred Koli fishermen built the Koliwada village here.
By the middle of the 19th century, Mumbai had experienced a population explosion, and
many Indians had relocated there in search of work with the East India Company. Ten
times more people lived in the city than in London.
Indians with low salaries started to settle down in Dharavi. To make things easier, the
British government gave them a 99-year lease in 1895. These inhabitants built tiny villages
inside them, including businesses, schools, mosques, temples, and other buildings.
Dharavi started to be used as a landfill after India gained its independence from the British.
Dharavi changed as Mumbai became a city of the utmost modernism, becoming the garbage
dump of the city. Development plans for Dharavi were provided by each political party in
power in Mumbai. But most of them came up short. In 1960, a social worker in Dharavi
established the Co-operative Housing Society to enhance the standard of living for those
who resided in the slum.
Numerous companies have offered numerous plans and suggestions for enhancing and
reconstructing Dharavi.
All preparations have been abandoned as a result of protests from Dharavi residents and
other groups.
Colonial Period: The Dharavi Slums
In pre-colonial India, a fishing community called Koli had developed close to the island of
Parel's northernmost point. They lived close to Mahim Creek, which had long provided
them with a source of food. Keep in mind that this was the pre-colonial Bombay, which
consisted of seven islands off the coast of the Arabian Sea. The Portuguese colonists did not
have any impact on the Koli fishermen's community when they built a small fort and chapel
at Bandra, the beach opposite Dharavi, in the 16th century. Gerald Aungier, the second
British governor of Bombay, gave the order to build the Kala Qila, also known as the Riwa
Fort, in Dharavi. For the British forces, the fort served as a watchtower, guarding them

8. from any Maratha or Portuguese incursions. The beginning of the reclamation of Bombay's
marshes in the 18th century was a turning point in Dharavi's history. The combined land
mass of all seven islands was located outside Parel.
Mahim Creek soon dried up as a result of the reclamation effort. The Koli village had run
out of resources and had begun to spread out in quest of new chances. Initially, immigrants
from Gujarat, Konkan, & Maharashtra were drawn to the colonial, industrial city of Bombay
by the opportunities it offered. The authorities immediately drove these immigrants north
to the outskirts of Bombay once they landed in the southern part of the city. Dharavi was
the home of numerous artists and aspirants by the start of the 20th century, including
Muslim leather tanners from Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh embroidery workers, & Tamil
Nadu confectioners.
When Maharashtra passed the Maharashtra Slum Areas Improvement, Clearance and
Redevelopment Act in 1971, Dharavi was classified as a slum. Water and sewage pipes,
taps, restrooms, power, and other amenities for the public were erected along the Sion-
Mahim-Link routes. To accommodate people whose dwellings were in the way of
construction projects, transit camps were constructed.
After Independence, the Dharavi Slums
When Maharashtra passed the Maharashtra Slum Areas Improvement, Clearance and
Redevelopment Act in 1971, Dharavi was classified as a slum. Water and sewage pipes,
taps, restrooms, power, and other amenities for the public were erected along the Sion-

9. Mahim-Link routes. To accommodate people whose dwellings were in the way of
construction projects, transit camps were constructed. When Maharashtra passed the
Maharashtra Slum Areas Improvement, Clearance & Redevelopment Act in 1971, Dharavi
was classified as a slum. Water and sewage pipes, taps, restrooms, power, and other
amenities for the public were erected along the Sion-Mahim-Link routes. To accommodate
people whose dwellings were in the way of construction projects, transit camps were
constructed.
The years that followed saw a lot of activity in Dharavi. The existence of Dharavi and the
urgency for its expansion were acknowledged in the 1981 Bombay development plan. In
1985, Rajiv Gandhi pledged Rs. 100 crores to improve the housing stock and other
amenities in Bombay, with about 30% set aside for Dharavi. The Prime Minister's Grant
Project was started in 1987, and a Special Planning Authority was established by the
MHADA.
Mumbai was gradually demolished and rebuilt, but this time with an FSI that was roughly
double. The entire premise of the report rested on a public-private collaboration to attract
significant sums of funding from around the world to the housing and infrastructure
sectors.
The Dharavi Redevelopment Plan was developed by the Maharashtra government in 2004
in response to the report's recommendations. It envisioned dividing Dharavi into five parts
in exchange for better developed land and requesting that businesses all over the world
offer free housing to the "eligible" slum dwellers of Dharavi. This was not warmly received
by the people of Dharavi. The Dharavi residents had little say in the overall development
plan, and the policies ignored their needs.
What is the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP)?
The Dharavi Redevelopment Project, often known as the DRP, was created in 1995 by
Indian architect Mukesh Mehta, a non-resident. The DRP received approval from the
Maharashtra government in 2004. Currently, the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) is
expected to freshen up the Dharavi Notified Area (DNA), a roughly triangular area of prime
land that contains astonishing 525 acres. The DRP's pace, however, has accelerated and
decelerated numerous times over the previous 16 years.
The Dharavi Notified Area was created in 2005 according to a resolution issued by the
Urban Development Department after the DRP's official approval in 2004. This resolution
mandated that the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) act as the DRP's Special Planning
Authority. The DRP welcomed the project's initial round of international applications in

10. 2007. The government and the non-governmental organisation MASHAL also undertaken
the difficult task of conducting a GIS-biometric survey and a socioeconomic baseline of
Dharavi's sectors 1–5 between 2007 and 2008. The DRP has never been able to attract
major builders or sizeable investments due to its unstable nature and the real estate
market's volatility. It's probable that the government's motivation to participate in the
programme was diminished because the private sector showed such little interest in the
DRP project. The DRP experienced a period of relative inactivity between 2008 and 2016,
during which the government-controlled MHADA was in charge of developing Dharavi
sector 5.
When the Maharashtra government made the decision to create a special purpose entity in
2018 to further encourage participation in the DRP, this situation changed (SPV). A single
function Object () [native code] or a group of constructors working together as a single
construct would be responsible for handling the building of Sectors 1–5. The state would
own a stake in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) equal to 20%, or one hundred crores, and
the private developer would own a stake equivalent to 80%, or four hundred crores. The
Development Control Regulations 2034, which have particular rules for the DRP, were
passed by the BMC in November 2018.
Only SecLink Technologies Corporation & Adani Infrastructure, two consortia of builders,
participated in the most recent round of bidding. Despite efforts by the State of
Maharashtra to hold the competition. SecLink Technologies Corporation (STC), a Dubai-
based consortium, was named the contest's victor, earning a promise to invest Rs. 7,200
crores in the project's initial phase. However, the project saw yet another period of
inaction.
The 16-year-old reconstruction project will now be put out to new bids, the state
government of Maharashtra has determined. After the state government cancelled the
project's prior tender, this choice was made in 2020.
The rebuilding of Dharavi will have a profound impact on Mumbai as well as the political
landscape for many years to come. According to experts, the effort will offer slum dwellers
a sizable chance while also supporting urban planners, human rights activists, and the
government of the state of Maharashtra in changing the appearance of the city as a whole.
Why Dharavi Needs High-Rise Structures
The agencies in charge of Dharavi's infrastructure must simultaneously permit the
construction of numerous skyscrapers and upgrade the city's current amenities. Here's
how this will be beneficial:

11. The clandestine economy of Dharavi is thought to generate $500 million in revenue
annually. The unemployment rate in India's slums, like Dharavi, is substantially lower than
it is elsewhere in the nation. When compared to Indian norms, the average annual salary is
between $500 & $2,000, which is not exceptionally low. On the other hand, there are no
further amenities available to the locals here beyond what is necessary for survival.
Dharavi's population density is currently unhealthy due to a lack of floor space in the city.
More trade & interaction could emerge from a dense population. However, it also raises the
chance of sickness, which has the effect of increasing neonatal mortality and decreasing life
expectancy. Dharavi can maintain its high population density while simultaneously
decongesting its living areas by building more towers of this type.
Dharavi's current problems are not unique. Nearly all of a developing nation's big cities
have these neighbourhoods. Even the global western metropolis of the 19th century had
them. The most populous cities in England were referred to as "death traps" during the
middle of the 19th century. Deaths in London between 1650 to 1750 cut the increase in
England's population in half. People were drawn to the most lucrative cities of todays
developed West, which increased the danger of premature death since they lived too close
to one another in areas with inadequate water supply and sanitary facilities. New York has
a far shorter life expectancy than the rest of the country compared to a century ago.
Dharavi, India, is in a lot better condition to handle the current scenario than London or
New York were 150 years ago. In a wealthy city like Mumbai, the local government can
collect enough money from fees on real estate developers who build upward to fund the
construction of basic infrastructure.

12. Like other cities throughout the globe, Dharavi has the ability to raise the level of living for
its citizens. On the other side, if it fails, many individuals might draw the conclusion that
Dharavi-style slums are one of the negative effects of urbanization. Despite the fact that
many who live in Dharavi are better off there than in the places they left behind, this will be
seen as justification for a slower rate of urbanization. Despite all the issues they bring,
slums offer low-income residents the most affordable housing options. Even though there
is no proof that a higher building density will lead to a higher population density, the
inadequate infrastructure in Dharavi could be used as justification for retaining the current
building density. In Dharavi's residential neighbourhoods, there has already been some
informal virtualization of slums. The amount of economic activity would soar and grow
even more vibrant & dynamically if these unofficial towns were given formal recognition.
Mumbai has offered slum dwellers resettlement programmes since since 1936. But these
programmes typically disregard the needs and interests of those who reside in slums, and
they regularly create regulations without consulting anyone. Since it is extremely
expensive for them to go further outside of the city centre, slum people frequently reclaim
the areas of the city where they were previously located. Real estate in this district is not
inexpensive, as evidenced by the fact that shanties in Dharavi can cost more than one crore
rupees. To call this place home, residents need enough infrastructures, additional floor
space, and their houses' legal rights.
Conclusion
Mumbai has a large number of slum regions, which contrast sharply with the city's affluent
urban population. Given the deplorable living conditions, it is only fair that slum residents
have access to at least the most basic amenities and infrastructure. Along with restoration,
it also contributes to a better metropolitan skyline.
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