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For months, threatening phone calls recurred. Initially, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, later from the police themselves. Finally, one resident states he was called to law enforcement headquarters and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

Shaikh is among those resisting a high-value project where this historic settlement – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be bulldozed and redeveloped by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of Dharavi is exceptional in the globe," states the resident. "Yet they want to destroy our community and prevent our protests."

Opposing Environments

The narrow alleys of the slum stand in sharp opposition to the high-rise structures and elite residences that dominate the neighborhood. Residences are built haphazardly and frequently missing basic amenities, small-scale operations emit toxic smoke and the atmosphere is permeated by the unpleasant stench of uncovered waste channels.

To some, the vision of a renewed Dharavi into a modern district of premium apartments, organized recreational areas, shiny shopping centers and residences with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream realized.

"We lack sufficient health services, roads or drainage and there are no spaces for youth to recreate," explains A Selvin Nadar, fifty-six, who moved from his home state in 1982. "The sole solution is to clear the area and provide modern residences."

Community Resistance

Yet certain residents, such as the leather artisan, are fighting against the project.

All recognize that Dharavi, long neglected as informal housing, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. Yet they are concerned that this plan – without community input – is one that will convert a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into an elite enclave, evicting the marginalized, working-class residents who have been there since generations ago.

This involved these shunned, displaced people who built up the vacant wetlands into a widely studied marvel of self-reliance and business activity, whose economic value is worth between one million dollars and $2m annually, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Resettlement Issues

Of the roughly one million residents living in the dense 220-hectare neighborhood, fewer than half will be qualified for replacement housing in the development, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to complete. Additional residents will be moved to wastelands and salt plains on the far outskirts of the metropolis, risking divide a long-established social network. Some will receive no homes at all.

People eligible to remain in the area will be given apartments in multi-story structures, a major break from the natural, collective approach of living and working that has supported Dharavi for so long.

Industries from tailoring to pottery and material recovery are expected to decrease in quantity and be relocated to an allocated "business area" separated from residential areas.

Existential Threat

In the case of this protester, a leather artisan and third generation of his family to live in the slum, the plan presents an existential threat. His rickety, multi-level facility produces apparel – sharp blazers, premium outerwear, fashionable garments – marketed in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

His family dwells in the spaces below and employees and garment workers – migrants from other states – also sleep in the same building, permitting him to manage costs. Away from Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are often significantly as high for basic accommodation.

Threats and Warning

Within the administrative buildings nearby, a conceptual model of the redevelopment plan depicts a contrasting outlook. Fashionable inhabitants gather on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, buying western-style baked goods and croissants and socializing on a terrace outside Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. This represents a world away from the affordable idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that sustains the neighborhood.

"This is not development for us," states Shaikh. "This constitutes a massive real estate deal that will render it impossible for us to survive."

Additionally, there exists skepticism of the corporate group. Headed by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and a supporter of the government head – the conglomerate has faced accusations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

Although administrative bodies calls it a partnership, the corporation paid a significant amount for its majority share. A lawsuit claiming that the redevelopment was unfairly awarded to the corporation is under review in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to publicly resist the redevelopment, local opponents state they have been subjected to ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – involving messages, clear intimidation and insinuations that criticizing the initiative was comparable with opposing national interests – by individuals they assert represent the corporate group.

Among those alleged to have making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c