By: Ayush Shahi; Edited by: Siya Kohli
Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning 2008 movie Slumdog Millionaire features Mumbai’s Dharavi slums as the backdrop for the rags-to-riches story of the protagonist Jamal Malik. As a contestant on the Indian version of the show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”, Jamal — a tea-seller at a call centre — finds the country’s hopes pinned on him as he answers the life-changing final question worth ₹2 crores. Now, more than 15 years after the movie was released, the lives of many from this slum, one of the largest in the world, are at the cusp of a transformation spurred by a redevelopment contract and innovative geospatial mapping technology.
On 22nd December 2023, Genesys International, an Indian geographical information services (GIS) company, was awarded a ₹22 crore (equivalent to $2.65 million) contract to conduct a 3D Digital Twin mapping of Dharavi. The company stated that it plans to make use of its state-of-the-art Oyster mapping technology to create a virtual representation of the slums, an area of 2.39 sq. km housing a population of more than 1 million people (for context Dharavi is ¾th the size of New York’s Central Park). The mapping project, which will enable real-time monitoring and simulation of geospatial data, will be the first step in the proposed rebuild of Dharavi and is slated to be completed in 9 months.
Most people are not too unfamiliar with the technology behind this ambitious project. Since the release of Google Maps in 2005, GIS and geospatial mapping have been touted as one of the many next big things. Advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud computing have only compounded the hype for its potential applications. Building a 3D model of the city using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology has been possible for some time now — laser scanners mounted on a vehicle emit millions of light pulses per second (as opposed to radio waves in RADAR technology) whose travel time is timed and recorded. This gives measurements across the X, Y and Z axes representing a “point cloud” which are then aggregated to derive a fully navigable 3D model.
But Genesys International is not just building a 3D model of Dharavi, it has promised a full-blown Digital Twin — and all the possibilities that come with it. A Digital Twin is, in essence, a 3D Model that is enriched using real-time data. Governments (across municipal, state and central levels) capture huge amounts of data every day. However, a major problem is that these databases are often in silos. Enabling their integration through the digital twin ecosystem can unlock benefits for multiple stakeholders: the government itself, businesses and primarily resident communities.
Imagine a city where the municipality can prepare precisely simulated plans against natural disasters months in advance (Dharavi is often flooded during monsoons due to its poor sewage and drainage systems); where telecom service providers can provide 100% network coverage using locational analysis; and where residents can flag a sanitation problem before it aggravates. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In low-income areas like Dharavi, government departments can work in synergy to facilitate the effective delivery of public services across infrastructure, energy, water, healthcare, education, emergency response etc. The applications are endless, and they are growing by the day.
However, concerns about the project’s impending implementation remain. Given Dharavi’s high population density, narrow congested lanes, and haphazard informal structures, officials should worry whether a precise 3D mapping is even possible. The digital twin mapping contract also follows the culmination of a protracted and controversial process to award the redevelopment rights for the region, which was won by business tycoon Gautam Adani’s conglomerate, the Adani Group, after it bid nearly $614 million for the government’s tender offer in 2022.
In August 2023, nearly 300 residents and members of the opposition political party gathered in Dharavi to protest against Adani’s involvement. They voiced mistrust in the group’s financial dealings, given allegations of stock manipulation and tax haven misuse by short seller Hindenburg, and raised issues regarding the government’s plan to only provide free homes post-redevelopment for those who lived in the slums before 2000. The latter put 700,000 others, nearly 70% of Dharavi’s population, under the financial distress of having to pay for government-subsidised (but not free) housing.
The landing approach to Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, also managed by the Adani group, is over the tin sheets and blue tarps of Dharavi roofs. Mr. Adani, who himself migrated to Mumbai in 1978, writes about the rehabilitation project in an impassioned article on his company’s website, “God willing, the likes of Danny Boyle will discover that the new Dharavi is producing millionaires without the slumdog prefix.” Meanwhile, Dharavi residents, who have seen multiple redevelopment efforts of their slums fall through, can only hope that the promise of geospatial technology will finally put them back on the map.
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