Dharavi Redevelopment Project Launches Call Centre, Meetings, Awareness Initiatives For Outreach

The Dharavi Redevelopment Project unveiled an outreach programme, which includes a call centre, regular community meetings, and pre-survey awareness campaigns.

The DRP call centre reported making and getting more than 8,000 calls every month to inform residents about the ongoing door-to-door surveys and to address their queries. The call centre has 10 telecallers with proficiency in Marathi, Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, and English, according to DRP.

“We urge Dharavikars to use the toll-free helpline (1-800-268-8888) more proactively to seek clarifications on issues such as eligibility, documentation requirements, their entitlements, etc. We are trying to increase the frequency of calls for better outreach. We expect similar cooperation from residents to make this a more fruitful exercise,” a DRP-SRA official said.

To further build trust and share accurate information, DRP is regularly organising meetings with community leaders and influencers. These key individuals are playing a pivotal role in assisting the survey process by addressing local concerns and cascading critical information to slum clusters. DRP reported that these engagements have proven useful in countering misinformation and easing resistance on the ground.

DRP said that it has also introduced other initiatives such as door-to-door visits, pamphlet distribution, and large-scale community meetings with slum societies.

“We are trying through various means to inform and educate Dharavikars about the redevelopment plan, its benefits, and how the survey is just the stepping stone in this humongous project. Dharavikars must come forward to participate and help in completing the survey as early as possible,” the official said.

The official also said that DRP takes "meticulous pre-survey steps" before initiating surveys in any sector to familiarise residents with the process. These actions involve identifying key community members, organising meetings to address concerns, and providing educational materials.

DRP also said that it has displayed survey notices and posters are also prominently displayed across the targeted areas.

The survey has reportedly covered over 79,000 lanes and completed numbering in over 70,000 hutments.

DRP said that collecting residents’ documents is a critical part of the survey. Survey teams photograph the documents and gather self-attested copies, which are securely sent to a back-office team for processing. Residents are provided with survey receipts as proof of their structure being surveyed, ensuring transparency according to DRP.

Despite these measures, concerns are still present regarding the potential misuse of residents' data.

Addressing the concerns, the DRP-SRA official said that the “Documents are scanned and stored in a secure facility, and there is no risk of misuse. Residents are fully assured that the information is solely used for survey and rehabilitation purposes only.”