Mumbai (The Hindu): Fearing that the underworld could take control of the Rs 16,000-crore Dharavi redevelopment project, the Maharashtra government has for the first time made it mandatory for a city infrastructure project to obtain a National Security Clearance (NSC) from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), New Delhi.

This means that the redevelopment of 60,000 slum structures in the heart of Mumbai will be carried out under the watchful eyes of central intelligence agencies: Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Sources said there have been credible inputs in the past that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his syndicate has its fingers deep in the redevelopment pie in Mumbai, and that the state did not want to compromise national security this time around for such an ambitious project.

The clause was added to the bid document cleared by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday. In Mumbai, the NSC has only been so far taken for the offshore container terminals and facilities being constructed by the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). The state has already coordinated with the two central agencies to draw up the clause.

“Our clause was drawn up with help from MbPT and JNPT. The government does not want to compromise national security, nor does it want a Dawood or any other syndicate to get involved in the project,” a senior official from the Chief Minister’s Office said.

In December, The Hindu had carried a series of reports, based on technical surveillance details from various agencies, concluding that the powerful criminal D-syndicate continues to play a crucial role in many segments of Mumbai’s economy, including several redevelopment projects in South Mumbai.

Intercepts had shown how Dawood Ibrahim and his family members, as well as his key aide Chhota Shakeel, through their proxies, have major interests in these redevelopment projects.

Sources in the government said the crucial clause is part of central government’s policy on national security clearance for certain sensitive sectors of the economy.

The clause means the MHA will seek a self-declaration from private players seeking security clearance that “their promoters or those on board of directors are not facing any charges of serious crimes like murder, money laundering, alleged terror links, major financial frauds/scams, using fake passports or links with foreign intelligence or security agencies”. Currently it takes two to three months to get a security clearance from the MHA on any project.