The Dharavi Redevelopment Project’s drive to clear up Sector 6 before the monsoon – to make way for the construction of rehabilitation buildings – is facing hurdles, as residents continue to resist evacuation notices. The process to clear out around 22,000 residents started in April, but is going inchingly slow due to growing demand from residents, despite assurances of temporary transit accommodation or rent.

Sector 6 of Dharavi is spread across nearly 35 acres on Matunga Railway Land, and includes the slum areas of Meghwadi, SVP Nagar, Azad Nagar A and B, Azad Nagar C, Kamla Raman Nagar, as well as the buildings of Shahu Nagar.

This week, the 900 homes of Shahu Nagar received notices to vacate by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Planned legal homes, the residents are entitled for bigger homes than their slum counterparts. They have been given an option of alternate accommodation on MHADA buildings in Sector 5, or Rs 22,000 monthly rent for those with homes of 275 sqft, or Rs 30,000 rent for those with homes of area 375 sqft. A shifting allowance will also be given.

Yet, officials from the DRP said many of the residents have put up a show of resistance, demanding larger homes from the redevelopment. From homes of 375 sqft, the residents have demanded up to 700 to 1,200 sqft homes.

“The residents are entitled to homes of 400 sqft, but the government has raised the bar to 500 sqft,” said a DRP official. In March, the Urban Development department had released a notification that said the planned buildings and chawls in Dharavi would be entitled to homes of minimum 500 sqft to maximum 750 sqft free of cost, with additional area on the payment of construction cost.

Discussions with the residents are on, said the official.

Other areas in Sector 6 too continue to show resistance. In Meghwadi, officials said 100 residents have signed agreements with the DRP. But in other areas of Azad nagar, SVP Nagar, Kamla Nagar, etc, discussion with residents continue to convince them to shift, even as they are on board with the redevelopment project.

“The reason people are resisting is because most are being pushed to accept the option of monthly rent in this transit period, which is Rs 18,000 for ground floor slums and Rs 15,000 for top floor slum homes,” said Vimal Verma, a Meghwadi resident. “But this is not enough for homes in central Mumbai. Alternative homes being offered by the DRP are far away in the suburbs, which disrupts people’s lives as they are away from their homes and schools. So, people are stuck. Those who are accepting rents are doing so out of fear their homes will be demolished.”