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Over an extended period, threatening communications continued. Originally, reportedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, and then from the authorities. Finally, a local artisan claims he was summoned to law enforcement headquarters and told clearly: remain silent or experience severe repercussions.

Shaikh is one of many fighting a high-value redevelopment plan where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be bulldozed and redeveloped by a large business group.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is unparalleled in the globe," says Shaikh. "However the plan aims to dismantle our community and silence our voices."

Opposing Environments

The cramped lanes of this community sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the settlement. Dwellings are constructed informally and typically missing basic amenities, informal businesses emit toxic smoke and the environment is permeated by the overpowering odor of exposed drainage.

Among some individuals, the prospect of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and residences with multiple bathrooms is an optimistic future realized.

"We don't have adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or drainage and we have no places for kids to enjoy," explains a tea vendor, in his fifties, who moved from his home state in that period. "The single option is to clear the area and provide modern residences."

Community Resistance

But others, such as the leather artisan, are resisting the project.

Everyone acknowledges that this community, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. But they are concerned that this project – lacking resident participation – could potentially transform premium city property into an elite enclave, forcing out the lower-caste, working-class residents who have been there since the late 1800s.

These were these marginalized, migrant workers who established the vacant wetlands into an extensively researched phenomenon of self-reliance and commercial output, whose economic value is valued at between $1m and a substantial sum a year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Resettlement Issues

Of the roughly one million inhabitants living in the dense 220-hectare area, a minority will be eligible for alternative accommodation in the development, which is expected to take a significant period to complete. Additional residents will be transferred to wastelands and salt plains on the far outskirts of the city, potentially fragment a historic social network. Some will be denied homes at all.

People eligible to stay in Dharavi will be allocated flats in multi-story structures, a significant rupture from the organic, shared lifestyle of living and working that has sustained this area for many years.

Businesses from clothing production to ceramic crafts and waste processing are expected to shrink in number and be moved to a specific "commercial zone" far from homes.

Survival Challenge

For residents like Shaikh, a craftsman and multi-generational of his family to call home this community, the project presents an existential threat. His informal, three-storey workshop makes leather coats – sharp blazers, luxury coats, decorated jackets – distributed in high-end shops in the city's affluent areas and abroad.

Household members lives in the accommodations downstairs and his workers and tailors – migrants from different regions – reside on-site, allowing him to manage costs. Outside this community, Mumbai rents are frequently 10 times costlier for basic accommodation.

Threats and Warning

In the government offices close by, an illustrated mock-up of the redevelopment plan shows a very different outlook. Slickly dressed residents mill about on two-wheelers and e-vehicles, buying continental baguettes and pastries and socializing on a patio near Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. This represents a complete departure from the affordable idli sambar morning meal and low-cost tea that sustains the neighborhood.

"This isn't progress for our community," states the protester. "This constitutes a massive real estate deal that will render it impossible for our community to continue."

There is also concern of the development company. Run by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and an associate of the national leader – the business group has encountered allegations of crony capitalism and questionable practices, which it disputes.

Even as local authorities describes it as a partnership, the corporation invested $950m for its 80% stake. Legal proceedings claiming that the project was unfairly awarded to the corporation is pending in the top court.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to actively protest the redevelopment, protesters and community members assert they have been subjected to ongoing efforts of pressure and threats – comprising phone calls, direct threats and implications that opposing the project was comparable with anti-national sentiment – by individuals they allege are associated with the corporate group.

Part of the group suspected of issuing the threats is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c