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Over an extended period, threatening communications continued. Originally, allegedly from a retired cop and a former defense officer, and then from law enforcement directly. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh asserts he was called to the local precinct and instructed bluntly: stop speaking out or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is among those opposing a multimillion-dollar project where Dharavi – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – is scheduled to be demolished and modernized by a large business group.

"The distinctive community of the slum is exceptional in the planet," states Shaikh. "But their intention is to destroy our social fabric and prevent our protests."

Opposing Environments

The narrow alleys of Dharavi sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and luxury apartments that loom over the neighborhood. Dwellings are assembled randomly and often lacking adequate facilities, unregulated industries produce dangerous fumes and the environment is filled with the overpowering odor of open sewers.

Among some individuals, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of luxury high-rises, neat parks, modern retail complexes and apartments with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream achieved.

"We lack adequate medical facilities, proper streets or drainage and there are no spaces for youth to recreate," says a tea vendor, 56, who moved from Tamil Nadu in the early eighties. "The only way is to clear the area and provide modern residences."

Local Protest

Yet certain residents, such as Shaikh, are resisting the project.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, consistently overlooked as informal housing, is urgently needing investment and development. But they fear that this initiative – lacking resident participation – could potentially convert valuable urban land into a luxury development, forcing out the disadvantaged, migrant communities who have lived there since the late 1800s.

It was these excluded, migrant workers who developed the vacant wetlands into a frequently examined example of community resilience and economic productivity, whose output is valued at between $1m and two million dollars a year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Displacement Concerns

Of the roughly 1 million people living in the crowded 220-hectare zone, less than 50% will be eligible for alternative accommodation in the project, which is projected to take an extended timeframe to finish. Additional residents will be relocated to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the distant periphery of the metropolis, threatening to divide a generations-old neighborhood. Some will receive no housing at all.

People eligible to remain in the neighborhood will be provided flats in high-rise buildings, a significant rupture from the natural, collective approach of residing and operating that has supported this area for many years.

Businesses from garment work to clay work and material recovery are projected to shrink in number and be relocated to an allocated "commercial zone" distant from homes.

Survival Challenge

For residents like Shaikh, a craftsman and multi-generational of his family to live in this community, the plan presents a survival challenge. His makeshift, three-storey facility creates leather coats – sharp blazers, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – distributed in premium stores in upscale neighborhoods and abroad.

His family resides in the rooms below and employees and garment workers – laborers from different regions – also sleep on-site, permitting him to sustain operations. Outside the slum, housing costs are often tenfold costlier for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

In the official facilities close by, a conceptual model of the Dharavi project depicts a contrasting vision for the future. Well-groomed people mill about on bicycles and eco-friendly transport, acquiring continental baguettes and croissants and enlisting beverages on a patio outside a coffee shop and dessert parlor. This depicts a stark contrast from the affordable idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that supports the neighborhood.

"This represents no improvement for residents," states the protester. "It represents a massive property transaction that will make it unaffordable for our community to continue."

Furthermore, there's distrust of the development company. Run by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and a close ally of the Indian prime minister – the corporation has faced accusations of favoritism and questionable practices, which it denies.

While local authorities labels it a joint project, the developer invested nearly a billion dollars for its 80% stake. Legal proceedings claiming that the redevelopment was questionably assigned to the business group is being considered in the nation's highest judicial body.

Sustained Harassment

From when they initiated to publicly resist the development, Shaikh and other residents claim they have been experienced ongoing efforts of harassment and intimidation – including messages, explicit warnings and suggestions that criticizing the development was tantamount to speaking against the country – by individuals they claim work for the corporate group.

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