Adani group, which last year won the bid for the ₹5,000-crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP), has denied the allegations of favouritism over the Maharashtra government’s latest notification on Transfer of Development Rights (TDR).
A section of the state’s opposition has accused the government of tweaking the TDR norms to allow the Adani group to maximise its profit. The company, in response to the accusation, called it a “mischievous ploy” at the “behest of certain vested interests”.
“The baseless and malicious allegations of ‘tweaking’ and amendments to suit selected bidders’ do not do justice to the regulatory transparency of the process. Alleging favouritism of any kind is a mischievous ploy to muddy the waters and divert attention from our goal of transformational urban management,” a spokesperson of the DRP stated.
Also Read: Dharavi: Adani aims to transform Mumbai slum into modern city hub
The allegation was levelled a day earlier by Congress’ MLA from Dharavi, Varsha Gaikwad. She claimed that the government has revised the norms to allow the use of TDR without indexation, and has inserted a rule that 40 percent of the TDR is required to be bought from the DRP, which has been awarded to the Adani group.
At present, only 10 percent of TDR generated in a project is allowed to be used in plush real estate markets of South Mumbai. The government has now removed the indexation, which allows an equal quantum of TDR to be used in other projects, The Hindustan Times reported on November 17.
“This corrupt government just gave PM Modi’s closest friend Gautam Adani a Diwali gift. The Shinde government has gifted Mumbai’s real estate market to Adani’s conglomerate. The notification proposes mandatory for all real estate constructions in Mumbai (where TDR is admissible) to purchase at least 40% of their TDR requirements at exorbitant rates from the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, where Adani Properties Pvt. Ltd. is the lead partner to facilitate Adani group’s takeover of Mumbai’s TDR market. Concession in Indexation is also a special case. Is this not unfair practice?” the newspaper quoted Gaikwad as saying.
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Adani group, in its statement issued today, said the government resolution (GR) that removed the indexation and allowed DRP to sell TDR was issued before the project was awarded to it in November 2022. “In the present, all that the government is doing is currently notifying this as a due process.”
“The GR issued before the onset of the 2018 tendering process had a provision for the sale of TDR generated from the DRP across Mumbai,” the spokesperson added.
In September 2022, another GR was issued to make certain revisions. “Contrary to the claim that these policy changes are going to benefit a single entity, the final notification from the government has, in fact, capped the minimum usage of TDR in other projects at 40 percent instead of 50 percent, as mentioned in the September 2022 GR,” the statement noted.
“It is unfortunate that some people are attempting to manufacture a controversy around TDR generation from the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP). We believe this is being done at the deliberate behest of certain vested interests who hope to derail or, at least delay, the long-cherished dreams of Dharavi’s people for a better future,” Adani group further said.
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