MUMBAI: Eligibility for residents on upper floors under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) is partially dependent on the status of ground-floor occupants, with affidavits only accepted if the lower unit qualifies, officials announced.
A government resolution issued on October 4, 2024, extends benefits to upper-floor residents who can demonstrate occupancy prior to a cut-off date of November 15, 2022. Those eligible may receive homes of 300 sq ft outside of Dharavi, but within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Beneficiaries can choose between a hire-purchase option, which involves nominal rent for 25 years leading to ownership, or an expedited ownership method by paying a pre-approved amount.
Officials noted that this approach signifies a shift from previous slum rehabilitation initiatives, which generally excluded upper-floor residents.
Eligibility documentation is assessed in a specific order, including electricity bills, registered rent or purchase agreements, and government-issued IDs reflecting the upper-floor address prior to the cut-off.
Affidavits are classified as lower-priority documents and necessitate certification from an eligible ground-floor resident. If the ground-floor occupant is deemed ineligible, those applying based on affidavits will also be disqualified, according to officials.
“In such instances, an affidavit will not be acceptable,” stated a DRP official, mentioning that many upper-floor applicants are currently using this category, which suggests a scarcity of higher-priority documents.
Claims have also been made regarding multiple units situated on a single upper floor. Officials clarified that each unit must present individual documentation under the higher-priority categories or collectively file as a single unit under the affidavit option, contingent on ground-floor certification.
The DRP policy permits only one home per family and disallows multiple claims from spouses or children. Prospective applicants who own property through other housing schemes in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region are not eligible as per the resolution.
The Dharavi Redevelopment Project is pioneering efforts to extend housing opportunities to upper-floor occupants, a move unprecedented in slum rehabilitation initiatives in India. However, the eligibility of an upper-floor family partially hinges on the ground-floor family’s status.
With this project, eligibility is intensely tied to documentation, requiring the head of the family to prove residency on the upper floor with documents submitted in the priority sequence outlined in the October 4, 2024, government resolution (GR).
At the top of the priority list is an electricity bill in the name of the family head, displaying the upper-floor address, along with one dated before the cut-off and one recent.
This is followed by a registered rent agreement indicating the upper-floor address, one prior to the cut-off and one more recent, as well as a registered purchase agreement with the upper-floor address and a notarized consent letter, again one pre-cut-off and one recent.
The next priority includes Aadhaar, passport, ration card, driving license, or voter ID confirming the upper-floor address before the cut-off.
Finally, an affidavit from the upper-floor family head, supported by a certification from the eligible ground-floor family head, is classified as priority 5. It applies where the ground-floor link is vital; if a ground-floor occupant fails to establish their eligibility and is disqualified, the affidavit pathway for the upper-floor resident closes as well.
“In such cases, an affidavit will not be accepted,” reiterated the DRP official. He added that many upper-floor residents are filing affidavits under Priority 5, indicating that they lack the necessary documentation from Priorities 1 to 4 as specified in the GR.
The DRP has also received submissions for multiple huts on one upper-floor unit identified as F1/1 and F1/2. Addressing this, the DRP official stated, “According to the GR of October 4, 2024, if there are several units on a slum upper-floor structure, the head of each such unit must submit documents under Priority 1-4. However, if they choose to regard all such units as a single unit, they may submit under Priority 5 with an affidavit that includes their floor number and duration of residency, duly verified by the eligible ground-floor resident.”
The GR stipulates that only one home is allowable per family, preventing separate claims by spouses or children. Those already claiming property under any other scheme in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region will be disqualified from the Dharavi redevelopment project scheme.
