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Across several weeks, threatening phone calls persisted. Initially, supposedly from a former police officer and a former defense officer, and then from the police themselves. Finally, a local artisan states he was summoned to the local precinct and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is among those fighting a expensive project where Dharavi – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – will be bulldozed and transformed by a corporate giant.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is unparalleled in the globe," says the resident. "But their intention is to dismantle our way of life and stop us speaking out."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of this community sit in stark contrast to the high-rise structures and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the settlement. Residences are built haphazardly and typically lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations emit toxic smoke and the air is permeated by the suffocating smell of uncovered waste channels.

Among some individuals, the vision of the slum's redevelopment into a developed area of luxury high-rises, well-maintained green spaces, modern retail complexes and apartments with two toilets is an aspirational dream realized.

"We don't have sufficient health services, proper streets or sewage systems and there are no spaces for kids to enjoy," says A Selvin Nadar, fifty-six, who moved from Tamil Nadu in that period. "The only way is to demolish everything and construct proper housing."

Community Resistance

However, some, like Shaikh, are resisting the project.

All recognize that Dharavi, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is urgently needing investment and development. But they are concerned that this plan – lacking community input – could potentially transform valuable urban land into a luxury development, forcing out the disadvantaged, migrant communities who have lived there since the late 1800s.

This involved these shunned, migrant workers who built up the empty marshland into an extensively researched phenomenon of local enterprise and commercial output, whose output is worth between one million dollars and $2m a year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Displacement Concerns

Among approximately 1 million residents living in the dense sprawling zone, a minority will be qualified for new homes in the development, which is estimated to take seven years to finish. The remainder will be transferred to undeveloped zones and salt plains on the distant periphery of the city, potentially break up a historic neighborhood. A portion will be denied residences at all.

Residents permitted to remain in the neighborhood will be provided units in high-rise buildings, a significant rupture from the natural, collective approach of residing and operating that has maintained Dharavi for so long.

Industries from clothing production to clay work and waste processing are likely to decrease in quantity and be transferred to a specific "business area" far from residential areas.

Livelihood Crisis

For residents like the leather artisan, a craftsman and long-time inhabitant to call home the slum, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His makeshift, three-storey workshop makes apparel – formal jackets, suede trenches, decorated jackets – sold in high-end shops in the city's affluent areas and abroad.

Relatives dwells in the rooms underneath and his workers and tailors – migrants from other states – reside in the same building, permitting him to manage costs. Outside this community, accommodation prices are often significantly costlier for basic accommodation.

Harassment and Intimidation

Within the administrative buildings in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project shows an alternative vision for the future. Fashionable residents mill about on bicycles and eco-friendly transport, buying continental baked goods and croissants and having coffee on a patio near a coffee shop and dessert parlor. It is a stark contrast from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and 5-rupee chai that supports local residents.

"This represents no development for residents," explains the artisan. "This constitutes a huge property transaction that will price people out for residents to remain."

Furthermore, there's concern of the corporate group. Headed by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the business group has faced accusations of favoritism and questionable practices, which it denies.

While local authorities calls it a joint project, the developer invested nearly a billion dollars for its controlling interest. A case stating that the project was unfairly awarded to the corporation is under review in the top court.

Continued Intimidation

Since they began to publicly resist the development, Shaikh and other residents state they have been experienced a long-running campaign of pressure and threats – including messages, clear intimidation and suggestions that speaking against the project was comparable with opposing national interests – by individuals they assert work for the corporate group.

Among those accused of delivering warnings is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c