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For months, coercive messages recurred. Initially, allegedly from a retired cop and a retired army general, later from the authorities. Finally, a local artisan claims he was called to the local precinct and told clearly: keep quiet or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is among those resisting a multimillion-dollar initiative where this historic settlement – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – is scheduled to be demolished and transformed by a large business group.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is unparalleled in the world," explains Shaikh. "Yet they want to destroy our community and prevent our protests."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of this community sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and elite residences that loom over the neighborhood. Homes are assembled randomly and typically lacking adequate facilities, informal businesses release harmful emissions and the atmosphere is permeated by the unpleasant stench of uncovered waste channels.

To some, the promise of a renewed Dharavi into a modern district of high-end towers, neat parks, contemporary malls and apartments with two toilets is an aspirational dream achieved.

"We lack sufficient health services, paved pathways or sewage systems and there's nowhere for youth to recreate," explains A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who relocated from his home state in that period. "The only way is to clear the area and build us new homes."

Community Resistance

But others, such as the leather artisan, are opposing the redevelopment.

Everyone acknowledges that this community, historically ignored as informal housing, is in stark need investment and development. However they worry that this initiative – absent of resident participation – could potentially convert a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, displacing the marginalized, migrant communities who have lived there since the nineteenth century.

These were these marginalized, migrant workers who established the uninhabited area into a widely studied marvel of local enterprise and business activity, whose production is estimated at between a significant amount and two million dollars per year, making it one of the world's largest unofficial markets.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about a million people living in the crowded 220-hectare neighborhood, a minority will be eligible for alternative accommodation in the redevelopment, which is estimated to take a significant period to accomplish. The remainder will be relocated to undeveloped zones and saline fields on the distant periphery of the metropolis, risking divide a long-established neighborhood. Some will not get housing at all.

Residents permitted to remain in the neighborhood will be given flats in multi-story structures, a major break from the natural, communal way of living and working that has sustained this area for generations.

Industries from garment work to clay work and material recovery are expected to shrink in number and be moved to a designated "industrial sector" distant from residential areas.

Livelihood Crisis

For those such as Shaikh, a workshop owner and third generation of his family to live in the slum, the plan presents a survival challenge. His informal, three-floor operation produces garments – formal jackets, premium outerwear, decorated jackets – sold in high-end shops in the city's affluent areas and abroad.

His family lives in the spaces underneath and laborers and sewers – laborers from north India – also sleep on-site, enabling him to sustain operations. Away from this community, housing costs are often 10 times more expensive for basic accommodation.

Harassment and Intimidation

In the government offices nearby, a conceptual model of the redevelopment plan depicts a very different outlook. Well-groomed residents gather on cycles and eco-friendly transport, acquiring western-style baked goods and pastries and enlisting beverages on a terrace near a coffee shop and Ice-Cream. This depicts a stark contrast from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and budget beverage that sustains the neighborhood.

"This is not improvement for residents," says the protester. "It's a huge property transaction that will price people out for our community to continue."

Additionally, there exists distrust of the business conglomerate. Run by an influential industrialist – one of India's most powerful and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the business group has faced accusations of favoritism and questionable practices, which it disputes.

While the state government calls it a collaborative effort, the developer invested $950m for its controlling interest. A case alleging that the project was unfairly awarded to the developer is under review in the top court.

Ongoing Pressure

From when they initiated to vocally oppose the redevelopment, protesters and community members claim they have been faced a long-running campaign of harassment and intimidation – including phone calls, direct threats and implications that opposing the initiative was comparable with anti-national sentiment – by people they assert are associated with the developer.

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