The BJP government is said to have adjusted the terms and conditions during the tender process, which despite being interrupted by a change of government, managed to return to power after the Shiv Sena’s works cracked.Oddly enough, Adani Group gets tens of millions of dollars for Dharavi redevelopment project
Posted Date – Mon, 17 Apr 23 at 07:40am
Dharavi is the largest slum in Asia and one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
Hyderabad: Adani’s power was unlimited when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power at the center. Despite the details of the BJP government’s plan to hand over several valuable public sector units across the country to the Adani Group, with parties including Bharat Rashtra Samithi citing examples like Bailadila and Visakhapatnam steel mills, there is more here.
According to information provided by various sources and reports, the BJP government is said to have adjusted the terms and conditions during the tender process, which despite being interrupted by a change of government, managed to regain power after the Shiv Sena’s works cracked. Curiously, the Adani Group has been awarded tens of millions of dollars for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP), one of the largest real estate projects in the country, which is expected to serve as a slum reconstruction project.
Below is a chronology of developments over the past few years, showing how the new rules were incorporated into the terms and conditions of the bidding process, allowing Adani Group to secure the project.
It all started in 2018 when the then BJP government in Maharashtra led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis came up with the DRP. Within a year, a global tender was launched. However, UAE-based Seclink Technologies emerged as the highest bidder. According to DRP, the winning company has to develop Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum in one of the world’s most densely populated areas, covering an area of 2.39 square kilometers, and build multi-storey buildings to accommodate slum dwellers. During the construction phase, the winning bidder has to provide temporary accommodation for slum dwellers at various locations designated by the government.
In March 2019, DRP officials wrote to Seclink requesting a meeting to move the bidding process further. Meanwhile, the state government signed an agreement with the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) to lease more than 45 acres of land in the neighboring Matunga and Dadar districts as temporary accommodation for slum dwellers. Then rested. The Central Election Commission announced a general election in May. Although the Model Code of Conduct does not apply to projects decided or initiated earlier, the DRP letter of acceptance has been frozen for reasons better known to officials.
After the elections, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena took over the government. Following the advice of the Attorney-General, the Thackeray government has decided to cancel the 2018 Dharavi tender. This was challenged and Seclink filed an application to the court to stay the new tender.
here comes the turning point
As the entire project grinds to a halt, Mumbai’s political corridors pick up a new game. A faction of the Shiv Sena broke the SS-NCP-INC alliance and formed a new government with the BJP. By political agreement, Fadnavis returned to the Cabinet, this time as Deputy Chief Minister and, more importantly, as Minister of Urban Development, under which the DRP is attached. Obviously a lot is going on in the background, and when a new tender for the DRP surfaced in September 2022, the terms and conditions were tweaked a lot.
For example, the technical expertise criteria for 2022 is that bidders should have built 6 million square feet within the past seven years. That violates the 2018 rule of 25 million square feet. Likewise, the net worth of the bidder increases from Rs 10,000 crore in cash or equivalent to Rs 20,000 crore. While a reduction in technical experience paves the way for smaller consortiums to bid and qualify, an increase in net worth would filter out bids from many firms.
Of the three bids, Adani Group was the highest bidder at Rs 5,069 crore. Adani Properties, the main real estate entity of the Adani Group, has reaped some benefits from this mega project. About 50 percent of the estimated 70 million square feet of property that will be included in the project could be sold on the open market. Only the balance has to be used for the rehabilitation of the original residents of Dharavi.
The current real estate prices in Dharavi are around Rs 10,000 psf and as the DRP gains momentum, Adani is sure to earn more from the 50% area he invested in than he would have invested for the entire project in the open market on sale. However, it remains to be seen how Adani manages to move forward with the project after bombs hitting Adani’s Hindenburg research in multiple ways. During this period, Seclink Technologies claimed that the tender specifications were maliciously modified, and the Maharashtra government told the court that the tender conditions were finalized taking into account “the overall circumstances of the DRP”, and claimed that the tender process was fair and transparent.
