Karachi: The Congress party has accused the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of favoring the Adani Group in the Dharavi redevelopment project in Mumbai. This allegation comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the relationship between the government and the Adani Group.

According to the Kashmir Media Service, Jairam Ramesh, Congress General Secretary, stated that the Maharashtra Urban Development Department, which had initially opposed relaxing certain rules, was forced to issue a notification. This notification altered the provisions related to Transferable Development Rights (TDR) in real estate in Dharavi, mandating Mumbai builders to purchase a significant portion of their TDRs from the Adani Group. Ramesh argued that this change disproportionately benefits the Adani Group financially.

He referred to the party’s “Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series,” which previously raised questions about the process through which the Adani Group secured the Dharavi Redevelopment Project in 2022 with a bid significantly lower than the original winning bid in 2018. This query was raised after the exclusion of the initial winning bidder.

Ramesh explained that TDR is a mechanism that compensates builders for forgoing construction rights in sensitive areas by allowing them to build in other approved zones. The removal of indexation, according to Ramesh, means TDRs generated in less expensive areas like Dharavi could be used in upscale locations, potentially driving up real estate prices in Mumbai’s costly housing market.

The Congress leader criticized this policy shift as a singular benefit to the Adani Group, terming it a ‘revdi’ (freebie) and part of a larger trend he described as a ‘Modi-made Monopoly (3M)’ favoring select business groups. He called for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigation to uncover the full extent of the relationship between the BJP and the Adani Group.

This statement comes in the context of ongoing allegations by the Congress against the Adani group, led by Narendra Modi’s close associate Gautam Adani, of gaining undue advantages from the BJP government. These claims have intensified following accusations by the U.S. research group Hindenburg regarding alleged stock manipulation.