Dharavi is considered one of the most unpleasant places on earth because it is a slum. It is an urban area in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, with a population of 1 million (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019). Many things about unseen forces and physical environments can be said about Dharavi. One of the many challenges a typical slum might face is the notion of substandard living conditions within a small but densely populated area. (Dictionary.com) An even more grievous thing to consider is that Dharavi is deemed to be one of the biggest slums in India.
Bollywood’s portrayal of Slums
Bollywood might give off the wrong impression of what it’s like living in a slum, as evidenced by the wildly popular and iconic film Slumdog Millionaire. A little research would reveal what is thinly veiled behind glorifying unsavoury living conditions. Becoming a “millionaire” would not be much good if you’re living in an area where you cannot even walk in a straight line for a few metres before stumbling onto litter or some poorly kept item.
As it turns out, the 2008 Slumdog Millionaire movie was filmed in Dharavi! Ironically, one of India’s most popular and well-recognized movies would not tell the tale of one of its biggest problems.
Open Defecation
A relative once said that if you follow Amber Heard, you’ll enter the excuse-my-language. This was a pop culture reference to the recent court case between Amber Heard and Johnny Depp, in which apparently, she left dog feces on a bedsheet. The actual saying would include the words, “If you follow the herd, you step in the shit” (Maxim of Mom). What does this have to do with Dharavi? You might be thinking, if this was generative AI, you might get a nonsensical response that masks the truth in plain sight, whereas I can articulate with transparency just fine.
According to the 2018 World Bank Sustainable Development model, India has some of the highest open defecation in the entire world. When I read the words ‘biggest slums,’ I couldn’t help but wonder if this was hinted at but not expressed openly. It has been known since 2014 that India
…struggled with massive open defecation rates for years, and that prompted the Modi government to take ambitious and decisive action. Under a plan called Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (“Clean India”), the country embarked on a massive toilet-building campaign in 2014, investing billions of dollars with the goal of ending open defecation and scavenging within five years. (McCarthy, n.d.)
If India as a whole struggles with open defecation, how much worse would it be for a slum like Dharavi? The Dharavi of 2023 has its sights set on massive urban redevelopments, so it would be a desirable place to live in Mumbai. In particular, a collaborative effort between the Adani Group and the government of Maharashtra is poised to redevelop the area using a multipronged approach.
Surveys
Making Dharavi a slum-free residential area is part of a larger scheme to ensure that Mumbai is free of slums. One measure being taken is using surveys to document tenement residents, which the Adani Group is spearheading. (Bose, n.d.) Further, these surveys will digitize what planners call a library of technological advancement, determine whether individuals’ places of residence would fall under the umbrella of the redevelopment project and help people pursue the idea of having their dream home.
States Goods and Services Tax
For businesses that invest in Dharavi’s redevelopment project, tax benefits lie for any commercial or industrial units they purchase. (Bose, n.d.) This incentivizes them to stick around when the slums are eventually eradicated and stimulates the economy. The government’s finance department will issue these benefits for at least another five years.
The Consequences of Redevelopment
The Billionaire Kingpin Gautam Adani is the one heading up the upheaval and redevelopment of India’s largest slum within its financial capital, but what does that mean for the residents who may not share his vision, much less his means? Many of its residents may lose their homes, and migrant workers may not be able to compete with the new businesses that have a stake in its development.
Gautam Adani is also reeling from the impact of his financial troubles, going from being the 3rd wealthiest person in the world to losing 110 Billion dollars over ten days after one potential investor alleged that his Adani Group was involved in financial manipulation and stock misrepresentation. Could this event merely reflect the Partition of Briain in 1947, where the land was not regulated, allowing for all kinds of growth?
Perhaps Adani Group’s financial blunder might result in a blurred parallel between open defecation and fraud wiped clean among the elite. If that is the case, is an organized slum in one’s mind different from the physical representation?
Reference:
Bose, M. (n.d.). Businesses rehabilitated in redeveloped Dharavi to get SGST refund for 5 years. [online] Deccan Herald. Available at: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/maharashtra/businesses-rehabilitated-in-redeveloped-dharavi-to-get-sgst-refund-for-5-years-2910222 [Accessed 12 Mar. 2024].
Bose, M. (n.d.). Dharavi survey to commence from March 18, kickstarting one of world’s largest urban rejuvenation projects. [online] Deccan Herald. Available at: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/maharashtra/dharavi-survey-to-commence-from-march-18-2931528 [Accessed 12 Mar. 2024].
Mazhar, M. (2023). Redevelopment in the slum from Slumdog Millionaire has residents worried they’ll be forced out. [online] CBC. Available at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/dharavi-slum-redevelopment-1.6780704.
McCarthy, N. (n.d.). World Toilet Day: The Countries Where Open Defecation Is Still Most Commonly Practiced [Infographic]. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2020/11/19/world-toilet-day-the-countries-where-open-defecation-is-still-most-commonly-practiced-infographic/?sh=6b10dbe841f7 [Accessed 11 Mar. 2024].
datatopics.worldbank.org. (n.d.). Data | The World Bank. [online] Available at: https://datatopics.worldbank.org/sdgatlas/archive/2018/SDG-06-clean-water-and-sanitation.html.
Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Dharavi. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharavi.
