Mahesh* owns a small paan and beedi shop near 90 Feet Road. His family has lived in Mumbai’s Dharavi for 50 years. Over the years, they added additional storeys above their home, a common practice in Mumbai's slums. The rent from these upper floors helps Mahesh care for his ageing parents. Redevelopment would cost him both his shop premises and this vital supplementary income. The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has given the go-ahead for the bioremediation of solid waste at the Deonar dumping yard to free the plot for housing “ineligible” residents (those lacking documentation) of the Dharavi…
Read moreArticles by Ayaan Motwani
Ayaan is a high-school graduate with a keen interest in urban studies and the regeneration of cities. As an intern at Plural Urban Labs, Mumbai, he took to writing this article on the basis of his research on urban sustainability and landfill regeneration. He is pursuing further education in geography, economics and the future of climate-resilient cities.