Dharavi revamp plan set for legal battle; HC to hear petition on Monday

Bombay HC to hear petition filed by Seclink on Monday

The battle lines are being drawn in the project to redevelop Dharavi, as the Maharashtra government and Seclink Technologies Corporation are ready to face off in the courtroom.

The little-known firm has moved the Bombay High Court challenging the award of the Rs 23,000-crore Dharavi redevelopment project to the Adani group. The high court will hear the petition on Monday.

Seclink, which is based in Dubai and incorporated in Seychelles, had set up a special purpose vehicle in India to bid for the project along with several consortium members. The company has claimed that it was the successful bidder for the project in January 2019 at Rs 7,200 crore after global tenders were invited in November 2018.

The first tender was, however, cancelled as the Maharashtra government included additional railway land in the redevelopment project, thus increasing the size and scope of the plan. A fresh tender was issued last year that included revamp of the railway land and the Adani group firm made the winning bid of Rs 5,069 crore in December.

Government officials said the project was awarded to the Adani group in a fair and transparent manner. According to them, instead of unknown entities the government wants large Indian companies such as L&T, Tata Projects and Adani who have requisite experience to participate in complex projects like Dharavi redevelopment.

Besides, the low paid-up capital of the Seclink entities in India and unknown promoters were another worrying factor for the government.

“Many prestigious projects in Maharashtra failed to take off or were stalled as their promoters either did not have any experience or could not arrange funds,” said a government official, asking not to be quoted. “The Dharavi project is firstly rehabilitation of 700,000 slum dwellers and then redevelopment of land at the tail end of the project. It would require local expertise as well as access to funds,” the official said.

Mails sent to Seclink India on Wednesday did not elicit any response. In its bid offer, Seclink, the lead entity in the consortium, relied on the letters of credit from external entities to establish its financial credentials, as per its petition. This reliance would make the entire structure vulnerable to instability in the global financial markets like rising interest rates, which could severely impact the timely completion of the project, officials said. Seclink’s lack of established track record and operational history in India raises many questions about taking up such a prestigious project, the officials add.

In its petition, Seclink said it had satisfied all the technical and financial eligibility requirements when the tenders were first invited and had quoted the highest bid above the stipulated amount of Rs 3,150 crore mandated by the government. In 2019, it was recognised as a successful bidder and according to the terms of first tender, it was entitled to the letter of award by the government. The company appealed to the court to restrain the state government from creating any third party interest in the Dharavi redevelopment project.