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Over an extended period, coercive messages continued. Originally, allegedly from a former police officer and a former defense officer, subsequently from law enforcement directly. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh claims he was ordered to the local precinct and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or experience severe repercussions.

Shaikh is one of many fighting a multimillion-dollar initiative where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be razed and modernized by a multinational conglomerate.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is exceptional in the world," states the protester. "Yet they want to dismantle our community and stop us speaking out."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of Dharavi sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and luxury apartments that loom over the settlement. Dwellings are built haphazardly and often lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations produce dangerous fumes and the air is saturated with the unpleasant stench of uncovered waste channels.

To some, the promise of the slum's redevelopment into a glistening neighborhood of luxury high-rises, well-maintained green spaces, shiny shopping centers and homes with multiple bathrooms is a hopeful vision realized.

"There's no sufficient health services, roads or sewage systems and there are no spaces for children to play," says a tea vendor, fifty-six, who relocated from Tamil Nadu in that period. "The only way is to demolish everything and construct proper housing."

Local Protest

But others, including the leather artisan, are opposing the redevelopment.

All recognize that the slum, long neglected as an illegal encroachment, is desperately requiring investment and development. But they worry that this project – without public consultation – could potentially transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, displacing the lower-caste, working-class residents who have lived there since the nineteenth century.

It was these excluded, relocated individuals who established the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of local enterprise and business activity, whose production is worth between $1m and $2m per year, making it among the globe's biggest unofficial markets.

Relocation Worries

Of the roughly one million residents living in the dense 220-hectare zone, less than 50% will be qualified for alternative accommodation in the project, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to accomplish. Additional residents will be moved to wastelands and coastal regions on the distant periphery of the metropolis, risking divide a generations-old community. Certain individuals will be denied residences at all.

Residents permitted to continue living in Dharavi will be given units in high-rise buildings, a major break from the organic, communal way of dwelling and laboring that has maintained this area for generations.

Businesses from clothing production to ceramic crafts and waste processing are likely to reduce in scale and be relocated to a specific "industrial sector" far from homes.

Livelihood Crisis

For those such as Shaikh, a workshop owner and third generation resident to call home this community, the project presents a survival challenge. His informal, three-storey operation creates garments – tailored coats, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – marketed in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Household members dwells in the rooms underneath and employees and tailors – laborers from other states – also sleep in the same building, enabling him to afford their labour. Outside Dharavi's enclave, housing costs are often 10 times costlier for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

Within the administrative buildings nearby, an illustrated mock-up of the redevelopment plan depicts an alternative outlook. Fashionable inhabitants mill about on bicycles and eco-friendly transport, purchasing western-style bread and pastries and socializing on a patio outside Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. It is a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar first meal and low-cost tea that supports Dharavi's community.

"This is not improvement for us," explains the protester. "It's an enormous property transaction that will price people out for our community to continue."

Furthermore, there's skepticism of the development company. Run by an influential industrialist – one of India's most powerful and a close ally of the Indian prime minister – the business group has encountered allegations of favoritism and questionable practices, which it rejects.

Even as the state government labels it a collaborative effort, the business group invested $950m for its 80% stake. Legal proceedings claiming that the redevelopment was questionably assigned to the corporation is being considered in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

From when they initiated to publicly resist the redevelopment, Shaikh and other residents claim they have been subjected to ongoing efforts of harassment and intimidation – comprising messages, clear intimidation and implications that speaking against the initiative was tantamount to speaking against the country – by individuals they allege work for the developer.

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