Dharavi is a residential area in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It has often been considered one of the world's largest slums. Dharavi has an area of just over 2.39 square kilometres (0.92 sq mi; 590 acres) and a population of about 1,000,000.
Some of the world largest slums exist in India like Dharavi Slum of Mumbai, Bhalswa Slum of Delhi, Nochikuppam slum (Chennai), Rajendra Nagar Slum (Bangalore) and Basanti Slum (Kolkata).
In response, Shelar said the land in Dharavi is owned by the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority (DRA), a state-owned company. Of the total land area, 50% belongs to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with other portions owned by the state and central governments, he added.
The billionaire's firm is snapping up distressed construction companies and winning major redevelopment deals, including the high-stakes overhaul of the Dharavi slum. Billionaire Gautam Adani's ports, power and cement businesses have made him Asia's second richest person.
INSIDE THE BIGGEST SLUM IN INDIA 🇮🇳 (It’s intense!) Dharavi, Mumbai.
Which 16 year old supermodel lives in Mumbai's slums name?
Maleesha Kharwa. Maleesha Kharwa is an Indian model, social media influencer, and internet personality recognized for her journey from Mumbai's slums to the fashion industry.
However, post-2011 tenants will be given houses on rent for 12 years. The Dharavi redevelopment project, covering over 100 million sq ft, is estimated to cost over Rs 2 lakh crore.
The Dharavi slum was founded in 1884 during the British colonial era, and grew because of the expulsion of factories and residents from the peninsular city centre by the colonial government, and due to the migration of rural Indians into urban Mumbai.
Millions of people live in slum dwellings across India and many migrate to live in the slums from rural villages, often in search of work opportunities. Houses are typically built by the slum dwellers themselves and violence has been known to occur when developers attempt to clear the land of slum dwellings.
The majority of the people working in Dharavi are men. The women typically work outside the slum. Dharavi has four main industries that provide the jobs for both skilled and unskilled laborers. Textile, leather, pottery, and recycling.
At the Mumbai Redevelopment Summit 2025 SVR Srinivas, CEO of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, shared a compelling vision of holistic rehabilitation — spanning construction, physical infrastructure, and social infrastructure. "Just imagine the amount of economic growth this one single project will bring.
The Dharavi crime rate is below 1%, and not just because incidents go unreported. Everyone in the community looks out for each other, and there is work for everyone in the slum.
Ahead of the Delhi Assembly election, the AAP, BJP, and Congress have sharpened their pitch on slums and are courting the city's over three million slum dwellers. The residents of the 675 slums in Delhi form around 15% of Delhi's electorate, and any swing in their voting pattern will impact the fortunes of the parties.
“Dharavi, often called the 'richest slum in the world,' is a hub of resilience, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Spanning over 2.1 square kilometers in Mumbai, it generates an estimated $1 billion annually through small-scale industries like leather goods, textiles, pottery, and recycling.
While most slums In Pakistan are typically situated on the outskirts of cities, Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, stands out as an exception, with slums dotted across its centre, primarily along the banks of riverine nullahs (drainage canals) (Hasan et al., 2021; Mansoor and Iram, 2023).
It all began with industrialization. There was high demand of labour and Mumbai was full of human resource. But capitalists ignored the necessity of safe housing for the workers. This continued and led to urbanization, making the rich richer and poor poorer.
Maleesha Kharwa, the 15-year-old girl from Mumbai's Dharavi Slum, has won hearts on the internet by becoming a stunning model. She is currently grabbing headlines owing to her modelling assignments.
Dharavi slum, where there is one public toilet per 1400 people, no running water and only access to water that has to be collected and carried by bucket for 3 hours per day.
There are a lot of people in Dharavi (one million approximately in an area of 0.7 square miles) and there is a strong police presence in the area. Dharavi is generally full of hard-working, honest people, although for security purposes we ask you not to take valuables with you on the tour.
Known as the “slum princess,” Maleesha was discovered by a Hollywood director three years ago, which opened doors to modeling and social media fame.
Of the 377 million urban Indians, 32% are children below 18 years of age. Despite the much-celebrated demographic dividend of India, more than eight million children under 6 years live in approximately 49,000 slums.
The land of Dharavi has a population more than Bahrain, Bahamas, Green land and Fiji. Here about 30% of the population is Muslim, 6% to be Christian and the rest 63% of Hindus along with some Buddhists and other minority religions.
Informal settlements are home to up to 60% of city dwellers in many low- and middle-income countries. These areas vary widely, but often have low-quality shelter, minimal services and unsafe locations. At the same time, they can provide low-cost housing and often host a range of informal economic activities.
People move to Mumbai because the city has lots of pull factors close pull factorA factor which attracts people to move to a new place.. People think that the city will provide lots of opportunities such as: social - better housing and services, eg healthcare and education. economic - more jobs and higher wages.
