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For months, coercive messages persisted. At first, supposedly from a former police officer and a former defense officer, later from the authorities. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh asserts he was called to law enforcement headquarters and instructed bluntly: stop speaking out or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is among those fighting a high-value redevelopment plan where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – will be bulldozed and transformed by a corporate giant.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is unparalleled in the world," explains the protester. "But their intention is to eradicate our community and stop us speaking out."

Contrasting Realities

The narrow alleys of the slum sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and Bollywood penthouses that overshadow the neighborhood. Homes are built haphazardly and often missing basic amenities, small-scale operations produce dangerous fumes and the air is permeated by the suffocating smell of uncovered waste channels.

Among some individuals, the prospect of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of premium apartments, neat parks, shiny shopping centers and residences with two toilets is an aspirational dream realized.

"We lack adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or water management and we have no places for youth to recreate," states A Selvin Nadar, fifty-six, who relocated from southern India in 1982. "The sole solution is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Local Protest

However, some, like the leather artisan, are opposing the redevelopment.

All recognize that Dharavi, historically ignored as informal housing, is in stark need investment and development. Yet they are concerned that this project – lacking public consultation – might convert a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into an elite enclave, evicting the disadvantaged, working-class residents who have been there since generations ago.

It was these excluded, displaced people who built up the uninhabited area into an extensively researched phenomenon of self-reliance and business activity, whose output is worth between a significant amount and two million dollars per year, making it among the globe's biggest informal economies.

Relocation Worries

Out of about one million inhabitants living in the crowded 2.2 square kilometer neighborhood, a minority will be qualified for new homes in the development, which is projected to take seven years to finish. Additional residents will be moved to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the far outskirts of the city, threatening to break up a generations-old social network. A portion will receive no homes at all.

People eligible to remain in Dharavi will be given apartments in multi-story structures, a major break from the evolved, communal way of living and working that has sustained Dharavi for many years.

Industries from garment work to pottery and recycling are expected to reduce in scale and be relocated to a specific "business area" far from residential areas.

Livelihood Crisis

For those such as Shaikh, a workshop owner and third generation of his family to reside in this community, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His rickety, multi-level facility makes garments – sharp blazers, luxury coats, decorated jackets – sold in premium stores in the city's affluent areas and abroad.

Household members dwells in the spaces underneath and his workers and sewers – migrants from north India – reside in the same building, allowing him to sustain operations. Beyond the slum, housing costs are often significantly more expensive for basic accommodation.

Harassment and Intimidation

Within the official facilities close by, a visual representation of the transformation initiative illustrates an alternative perspective. Slickly dressed residents mill about on bicycles and e-vehicles, purchasing western-style baked goods and breakfast items and socializing on an outdoor area adjacent to Dharavi Cafe and dessert parlor. This depicts a world away from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and budget beverage that sustains the neighborhood.

"This represents no development for residents," says the protester. "It's an enormous land development that will render it impossible for our community to continue."

Furthermore, there's concern of the development company. Run by an influential industrialist – a leading figure and a supporter of the national leader – the conglomerate has encountered allegations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it rejects.

Even as the state government labels it a joint project, the developer contributed a significant amount for its majority share. A case claiming that the initiative was unfairly awarded to the developer is under review in the top court.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to publicly resist the development, local opponents claim they have been experienced an extended period of coercion and warning – comprising messages, direct threats and suggestions that opposing the project was comparable with opposing national interests – by people they allege represent the corporate group.

Part of the group accused of delivering warnings is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c