In a significant legal victory for Adani Group, a court in Mumbai has dismissed a petition challenging the company’s award of a major contract to redevelop Dharavi, one of Asia’s largest and most densely populated slums. The court’s decision removes a key hurdle for the $619 million transformation project that aims to turn the sprawling slum into a modern urban hub.
The 240-hectare Dharavi slum, infamous for its overcrowded conditions, open sewers, and shared sanitation facilities, has long been an eyesore amidst Mumbai’s booming development. Featured in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, it stands just a stone’s throw from Mumbai’s bustling airport and financial district.
Adani Group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, won the redevelopment contract in 2023 after a bidding process. However, the Dubai-based SecLink Technologies Corporation, which had previously submitted the highest bid in 2018, challenged the award in a petition filed with the Bombay High Court. SecLink claimed the Maharashtra government unfairly canceled the original tender and altered the terms in 2022 to favor Adani.
The Bombay High Court rejected these claims, affirming that the tender conditions were not designed with the intention of benefiting a specific bidder. “The grounds urged in support of the petition lack force,” the court concluded in its ruling.
SecLink has indicated plans to appeal the decision to India’s Supreme Court, maintaining that the bidding process was politically motivated and designed to benefit Adani. The Maharashtra government, aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Adani Group both denied the allegations, stating the process was legally sound and necessary for the region’s growth.
The project, a joint venture between Adani Group and the Dharavi Slum Redevelopment Authority, aims to provide modern housing and infrastructure to the slum’s residents. As part of the initiative, Adani Group began conducting a survey to assess the eligibility of residents for free housing under the redevelopment plan.
