But since the “apartments” need be no more than 225 sq ft each, and the minimum distance between two buildings no more than five metres, there will be quite a bit of surplus land. A cool two crore sq ft, to be exact, which builders may sell in the commercial market. In addition, the Government has granted an unprecedented Floor Space Index (the ratio of total floor area to the plot size) of four—considerably higher than Mumbai’s standard 1.3—as a “bait” to potential developers. No wonder the sharks can’t wait to bite. And with Rs 2,700 crore expected to land in the official kitty, neither can the state government.

Not everyone is delighted. Dharavi’s vociferous NGOs have accused the Government of “banishing the poor”, after grabbing their land in connivance with the builders’ lobby. And the state-instituted Chitale Committee has warned that the project will turn the slum into the most densely populated place on earth, posing a grave civic risk.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested seven officials from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, which is spearheading 1,500 such schemes across the city, on charges of forgery, listing fictitious tenants, and profiteering. The scam has confirmed rumours of endemic fraud and bribery running into hundreds of crores.

Hardly an auspicious start to the world’s most ambitious urban renewal plan. But then, Dharavi is well used to bleak beginnings.