Mumbai: Sustainability and Management

Mumbai faces enormous challenges from rapid urbanisation, but it is not passive in the face of these problems. A range of management strategies — from massive government-led top-down projects to community-driven bottom-up initiatives — are being implemented to improve housing, transport, waste management and environmental quality. Understanding these strategies and being able to evaluate their effectiveness is essential for the Edexcel B specification, which requires you to discuss how cities manage growth and work towards sustainability.

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Slum Redevelopment

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP)

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project is one of the most ambitious and controversial urban renewal schemes in the world:

Feature	Detail
Proposed in	2004 (revised multiple times since)
Estimated cost	$3–4 billion
Lead developer	Adani Group awarded the contract in 2022 (after decades of delays with previous developers)
Plan	Demolish existing Dharavi structures and replace them with modern high-rise apartment buildings with proper sanitation, water supply and electricity
Eligibility	Residents who can prove they have been living in Dharavi since before 2000 are eligible for a free 350 sq ft (32.5 m²) apartment
Commercial element	The developer will also build commercial properties on reclaimed land to fund the residential construction
Timeline	Construction expected to take 10–15 years

Criticisms of the DRP

Criticism	Explanation
Displacement	Residents who arrived after 2000 (estimated at 30–40% of Dharavi's population) are not eligible for free housing and face eviction
Disruption to livelihoods	Dharavi's $1 billion informal economy depends on its current structure — workshops integrated with homes. Moving people to high-rise apartments could destroy these livelihoods
Community destruction	Dharavi has strong social networks and community organisations built over generations. Relocating people to different buildings breaks these networks
Profit motive	Critics argue the project is driven by the enormous value of Dharavi's land (central Mumbai, estimated $10 billion) rather than genuine concern for residents
Scale of disruption	Relocating 1 million+ people while construction takes place is an immense logistical challenge
Previous failures	Earlier slum redevelopment projects in Mumbai (e.g., in Goregaon and Jogeshwari) resulted in poor-quality construction, inadequate maintenance and residents selling their apartments and returning to slums

The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) Scheme

The SRA is a broader Mumbai-wide programme that has operated since 1995:

• Eligible slum dwellers receive a free 300 sq ft apartment in a new building constructed on or near the slum site
• In return, the developer receives the right to sell additional commercial and residential space on the site at market rates
• Since 1995, the SRA has rehabilitated approximately 150,000 families
• However, at Mumbai's current growth rate, this has barely kept pace with the formation of new informal settlements

Exam Tip: When discussing slum redevelopment, always present both sides. Top-down projects like the DRP offer modern housing but risk destroying livelihoods and communities. The exam rewards balanced evaluation, not one-sided criticism or praise.

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Bottom-Up Approaches

In contrast to top-down government schemes, bottom-up approaches involve local communities in planning and decision-making. Several notable examples operate in Mumbai:

SPARC and the National Slum Dwellers Federation

SPARC (Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres) is an NGO that has worked with Mumbai's slum communities since 1984:

Initiative	Detail
Community toilet blocks	SPARC has helped build and manage hundreds of community toilet blocks in slums, with residents involved in design, construction and maintenance
Housing cooperatives	SPARC helps slum dwellers form housing cooperatives that negotiate with government for land tenure and improved services
Data collection	Community members survey and map their own settlements — this data is used to advocate for services and resist unjust evictions
Women's leadership	SPARC deliberately involves women in leadership roles — Mahila Milan (Women Together) is a network of women's savings groups that manage community funds

Waste Picker Cooperatives

Mumbai's estimated 100,000+ waste pickers (known as kabadiwalas and rag pickers) have organised into cooperatives:

• SWaCH (Solid Waste Collection and Handling) in nearby Pune provides a model for Mumbai — a cooperative of waste pickers that provides door-to-door waste collection and recycling
• Waste pickers collect, sort and sell approximately 2,000–3,000 tonnes of recyclable material per day in Mumbai
• Cooperatives provide members with identity cards, health insurance and better bargaining power with buyers
• The work of informal recyclers saves the Municipal Corporation an estimated ₹400 crore ($50 million) per year in waste collection and disposal costs

Exam Tip: Bottom-up schemes are often more effective than top-down approaches because they involve the community, respect existing livelihoods and are cheaper to implement. However, they tend to be smaller in scale and slower to produce results. The best exam answers compare top-down and bottom-up approaches.

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Transport Improvements

Mumbai is investing heavily in transport infrastructure to manage congestion and support continued growth: