Maharashtra polls: Why Mumbai made to lose big-ticket projects to Gujarat, Congress asks PM Modi

Jairam Ramesh. File Pic

The Congress attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday by posing questions to him on Mumbai, asking why is the metropolis "made to lose" big-ticket projects to Gujarat and why is the BJP "sponsoring Adani's Dharavi land grab", reported the PTI.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh posed five questions which he said the people are asking the PM.

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He asked whether the BJP is scared of losing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.

"The Mahayuti government's repeated delays in holding the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections is a blatant attack on democracy and the rights of Mumbai's citizens. The government claims that the delays are due to issues like OBC reservations and ward delimitation but the reality is that the BJP was afraid of facing the electorate, fearing a loss that would undermine its image before the elections," Ramesh alleged in his post on X.

"With the BMC under an un-elected administrator, the ruling coalition has been using the civic body's funds and resources to benefit its own MLAs and supporters," he alleged.

Without elected representatives, Mumbai's citizens have also struggled to get their voices heard and grievances addressed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Ramesh said.

"This is a clear attempt to consolidate power, and a blatant subversion of democratic principles. Why has the BJP betrayed the people of Mumbai? How much longer do the people have to wait to have their voices heard?" he said.

Ramesh further asked why is the BJP "sponsoring Adani's Dharavi land-grab".

"The Dharavi Redevelopment Project has turned into a BJP-sponsored land grab for the non-biological PM's best friend, the Adani Group. The latest tender, floated by the Mahayuti government in September 2022, was allegedly geared specifically towards the Adani Group, the eventual winner," he alleged, according to the PTI.

The structure of the Adani-led Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established through this tender served to completely alienate Dharavi's seven lakh residents, he said.

The share of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority was reduced to 20 per cent, the ability of residents to negotiate at the planning level was removed and the process of public debate and participation that had emerged from the start of the process was scrapped in its entirety, Ramesh said.

"The new tender has also gifted the Adani group an inordinate amount of valuable Transferable Development Rights (TDR) -- the original tender only awarded 5 crore square feet of TDR to the developer, but the Adani remaster has gifted the group a whopping 10.5 crore square feet," he said, the news agency reported.

While only 54,461 slum inhabitants and 9,522 residents living in chawls and buildings will receive homes within Dharavi according to the latest documents, Adani is anticipating astronomical profits and a profit margin that could be as high as 434 per cent, Ramesh claimed.

"A November 2023 notification issued by the Maharashtra government provided numerous additional concessions to the Adani group, including higher valuations for Dharavi TDR and a rule that 40% of all TDR used in any construction project in the city must come from Dharavi," he said.

Just before it is set to lose power in the elections on November 20 (the day voting takes place in Maharashtra), the Mahayuti went on overdrive to clear permissions for the project in Dharavi, he claimed.

"This lucrative 'revdi' for the Adani Group comes at the expense of millions of Mumbaikars, not just the residents of Dharavi. Does the non-biological PM have any defence for the massive loot that he is orchestrating in full public gaze?" Ramesh said.

He also asked why was Mumbai made to lose so many big-ticket projects to Gujarat.

"Under BJP rule, many big-ticket projects that were best-suited to Mumbai's economy have been shifted to Gujarat," he alleged.

(with PTI inputs)