MUMBAI, June 11 (Reuters) - Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance group has won a bid to redevelop a 101.4 acre slum in western Mumbai, marking its entry into a sector where rival Adani Group is already redeveloping one of Asia's biggest slums, Dharavi.

A consortium led by Reliance 4IR Realty Private Ltd won the bid for the Juhu Galli slum cluster in Andheri, the Mumbai-based Slum Rehabilitation Authority said late on Wednesday. The project is expected to deliver more than 28,000 rehabilitation homes for eligible people currently living in Juhu Galli, it said.

The tender also attracted bids from metals giant JSW Group and conglomerate Shapoorji Pallonji Group.

Slum redevelopment in Mumbai has historically been handled by mid-sized developers under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, with projects often delayed by fragmented landholdings and the need to secure consent from residents. However, policy changes by Maharashtra state, which is governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bhartiya Janata Party, party in the past few years have attracted large conglomerates to the sector.

The state announced a new slum cluster redevelopment framework in November 2025, which offers developers large contiguous land of at least 50 acres that does not require the consent of residents of the settlements to redevelop.

The state also offers developers additional development rights and higher building limits that allow them to build more saleable space once the slum redevelopments are completed.

To safeguard the interest of Juhu Galli residents, Reliance is required to pay the Slum Rehabilitation Authority 7 billion rupees ($73 million) over the next two years to cover temporary rents for the residents. It must also deposit a further one year of temporary rent costs and a performance guarantee of 1 billion rupees ($10 million), the authority said, without giving more details.

"The successful bidding process demonstrates the growing interest of India’s leading corporate houses in partnering with the government to address Mumbai’s housing challenges through large-scale redevelopment initiatives," the Slum Rehabilitation Authority said in a statement.

Adani Group won the contract to convert the Dharavi slum in Mumbai in 2023, but the project to convert the settlement housing 1 million people into a modern city hub, has been fraught with legal issues and protests by residents.