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Over an extended period, threatening communications recurred. Originally, allegedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, and then from the police themselves. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh asserts he was called to the police station and told clearly: remain silent or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is among those opposing a multimillion-dollar project where Dharavi – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – will be bulldozed and modernized by a corporate giant.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is unparalleled in the planet," states the resident. "But the plan aims to eradicate our social fabric and stop us speaking out."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of the slum sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and elite residences that loom over the settlement. Homes are built haphazardly and typically without proper sanitation, small-scale operations release harmful emissions and the environment is saturated with the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

Among some individuals, the prospect of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of premium apartments, neat parks, modern retail complexes and apartments with proper sanitation is an aspirational dream realized.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, roads or drainage and there's nowhere for kids to enjoy," says a tea vendor, 56, who moved from southern India in 1982. "The only way is to tear it all down and build us new homes."

Community Resistance

Yet certain residents, such as this protester, are opposing the redevelopment.

None deny that this community, long neglected as an illegal encroachment, is urgently needing economic input and modernization. But they fear that this initiative – absent of public consultation – might turn premium city property into a luxury development, displacing the disadvantaged, immigrant populations who have been there since the nineteenth century.

These were these marginalized, displaced people who built up the vacant wetlands into a widely studied marvel of self-reliance and business activity, whose production is worth between a significant amount and a substantial sum a year, making it a major informal economies.

Displacement Concerns

Among approximately a million people living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer neighborhood, less than 50% will be qualified for new homes in the development, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to accomplish. The remainder will be relocated to undeveloped zones and saline fields on the remote edges of Mumbai, potentially fragment a long-established social network. Certain individuals will not get residences at all.

Those allowed to continue living in the neighborhood will be provided flats in high-rise buildings, a major break from the evolved, shared lifestyle of living and working that has supported this area for many years.

Industries from tailoring to clay work and waste processing are expected to reduce in scale and be relocated to an allocated "business area" far from people's residences.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of Shaikh, a craftsman and multi-generational inhabitant to live in the slum, the project presents a fundamental risk. His makeshift, multi-level operation makes leather coats – tailored coats, premium outerwear, decorated jackets – sold in premium stores in the city's affluent areas and overseas.

Relatives dwells in the accommodations below and his workers and tailors – workers from north India – reside on-site, allowing him to manage costs. Away from the slum, Mumbai rents are often 10 times more expensive for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

At the government offices nearby, a conceptual model of the transformation initiative shows a very different vision for the future. Fashionable residents gather on cycles and eco-friendly transport, purchasing continental bread and pastries and socializing on a terrace near Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. This represents a complete departure from the 20-rupee idli sambar breakfast and 5-rupee chai that supports local residents.

"This represents no progress for residents," explains the protester. "This constitutes an enormous real estate deal that will price people out for our community to continue."

Furthermore, there's concern of the development company. Managed by a powerful tycoon – among the country's wealthiest and an associate of the national leader – the corporation has encountered allegations of crony capitalism and financial impropriety, which it rejects.

Although the state government describes it as a joint project, the corporation contributed $950m for its controlling interest. Legal proceedings claiming that the project was improperly granted to the developer is under review in India's supreme court.

Ongoing Pressure

Since they began to vocally oppose the project, protesters and community members claim they have been subjected to an extended period of pressure and threats – including phone calls, direct threats and implications that speaking against the project was equivalent to speaking against the country – by people they allege are associated with the corporate group.

Included in these accused of issuing the threats is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c