The Congress on Sunday slammed the handover of the Dharavi redevelopment project in Mumbai to the Adani group, alleging the BJP’s motive was to help the business conglomerate and not the residents of Asia’s largest slum.

The comment came a day after former Shiv Sena chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, a Congress ally, led a massive rally against the handover.

"A protest against Modani MegaScam was held on December 16, led by senior leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and attended by thousands of Dharavi residents," Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.

The MVA is the Opposition alliance in Maharashtra, where the BJP is a ruling partner.

"This is yet another example of how Modani (Modi plus Adani) is getting enriched at the expense of the people of India. And a reminder of how the biggest loot in modern India continues in full public gaze, with the complete support of the Prime Minister and the ruling party," Ramesh said.

The Congress, which was part of Saturday’s protest with local MLA Varsha Gaekwad joining Uddhav with her supporters, contested the Adani group’s claim that the terms and conditions of the project had been finalised under the erstwhile MVA government.

"Despite official and unofficial claims, the reality is that the Dharavi project will result in the Adani conglomerate being given a mammoth 10.5 crore square feet of real estate Transferable Development Rights (TDR) equivalent to 6-7 times the area of Dharavi," Ramesh said.

"This has been presented in a detailed study by Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaekwad. TDR is a transferable credit that allows builders who use land, for instance, in approved slum development projects to be compensated with extra construction rights in other areas.

"We have previously asked the Prime Minister to explain how the Adani conglomerate came to win the lucrative Dharavi project after an earlier tender — won by a different developer — was cancelled and rebid."

Ramesh added: “In the earlier tender, the developer was offered a TDR equivalent to 5 crore square feet, but this has now jumped by 110%, which could give the Adani conglomerate a profit margin as high as 434%.”

Ramesh argued that these “supernormal profits” had been enabled via modifications made to the Development Control Regulations on November 5, 2018, and September 28, 2022, that had the effect of handing the Adani conglomerate a huge TDR bank.

“By doing away with indexation, these government resolutions give the Adani conglomerate the freedom to sell TDR anywhere in Mumbai, including south and central Mumbai, and that too at much higher rates than previously allowed,” he said.

“All Mumbai developers will now be compelled to buy 40% of their TDR requirement from the Adani conglomerate at exorbitant rates.”

Ramesh termed the deal a “lucrative revdi” for the Adani group at the cost of the people’s interests, using a disparaging label (a “revdi” is a cheap sweet) that Modi had once employed for the freebies offered by political parties to the public at large.

“Dharavi is a very diverse, thriving community of 7 lakh people that represents a mini-India. It has a large number of small, independent businesses that generate an estimated Rs 100 crore in annual income to the government,” Ramesh said.

“Yet documents show that most of these people will be evicted out and only 54,461 slum dwellers and 9,522 residents in chawls and buildings will receive a rehabilitation home within Dharavi.

“Furthermore, there has been no independent citywide assessment of what impact the creation of this mammoth TDR will have on Mumbai, in contravention of prevailing rules and court orders.”

He added: “The unique quality of the Modani MegaScam is not just that the Prime Minister is channelling lakhs of crores (or trillions as the PM says) towards his close friends and creating a Modi-Made Monopoly (3M), but that these lakhs of crores are coming straight from the pockets of ordinary Indians.

“We already know that the inflated cost of over-invoiced coal imports is being borne by lakhs of electricity consumers and that middle-class travellers are paying Modani’s inflated airport charges.”

Uddhav had on Saturday said his government had been pulled down only to ensure that Adani got this lucrative deal, and claimed he now understood who had financed the rebellion to split the Shiv Sena.

He flagged how everything from infrastructure projects to airports was being handed over to Adani and then pointed to Saturday’s massive protest, saying: “Ye nazara dikhao unko jinhone Adani ki supari lee hai (Show this scene to those who have taken the contract to help Adani).”

Uddhav demanded that every Dharavi resident be given a 500sqft house within the Dharavi conclave and not on railway land taken on lease.

“Not only Dharavi residents but police, sanitary workers and mill workers should also get houses in Dharavi. I am not against development but this is the biggest TDR scam in the world,” he said.

“...His (Adani’s) next generations can also live peacefully without working -- so high is the TDR that the government is gifting them. But we will not let that happen.”

Responding to the allegations, the Adani group said the Dharavi project had been awarded to it through a fair, open, internationally competitive bidding process.

“It is important to note that the tender conditions were finalised during the tenure of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which demitted office at the end of June 2022,” the Adani group said.

“The finalised conditions, including the obligations and incentives, which were known to all the bidders, have not been changed for the awardee post the tendering process. Hence, it is wrong to claim that any special benefits have been given to the awardee. It is unfortunate that a concerted effort is being made to disseminate misinformation about certain aspects of the project.”