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Across several weeks, coercive messages recurred. Originally, supposedly from a retired cop and an ex-military commander, subsequently from the authorities. In the end, a local artisan states he was called to the police station and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

The leather artisan is one of many resisting a high-value redevelopment plan where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – will be demolished and redeveloped by a corporate giant.

"The unique ecosystem of Dharavi is unparalleled in the world," says the resident. "But the plan aims to eradicate our way of life and silence our voices."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of Dharavi present a dramatic difference to the towering buildings and elite residences that loom over the settlement. Homes are assembled randomly and often without proper sanitation, informal businesses release harmful emissions and the air is filled with the overpowering odor of exposed drainage.

To some, the vision of the slum's redevelopment into a developed area of premium apartments, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and apartments with proper sanitation is a hopeful vision realized.

"We don't have adequate medical facilities, proper streets or drainage and there's nowhere for kids to enjoy," states a tea vendor, 56, who moved from his home state in 1982. "The sole solution is to clear the area and build us new homes."

Community Resistance

However, some, including the leather artisan, are fighting against the redevelopment.

None deny that this community, consistently overlooked as informal housing, is desperately requiring investment and development. Yet they worry that this plan – without community input – is one that will convert a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a playground for the rich, displacing the marginalized, immigrant populations who have lived there since the nineteenth century.

These were these shunned, relocated individuals who established the uninhabited area into a frequently examined example of local enterprise and business activity, whose economic value is valued at between $1m and a substantial sum annually, making it a major unregulated sectors.

Displacement Concerns

Of the roughly one million inhabitants living in the crowded 2.2 square kilometer zone, a minority will be qualified for replacement housing in the development, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to accomplish. Additional residents will be transferred to wastelands and salt plains on the remote edges of Mumbai, threatening to fragment a long-established social network. A portion will receive no residences at all.

People eligible to remain in Dharavi will be allocated units in multi-story structures, a significant rupture from the organic, shared lifestyle of living and working that has supported Dharavi for many years.

Commercial activities from garment work to pottery and recycling are likely to decrease in quantity and be moved to a specific "industrial sector" distant from people's residences.

Livelihood Crisis

For those such as Shaikh, a craftsman and third generation of his family to reside in Dharavi, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His rickety, three-storey facility creates leather coats – formal jackets, luxury coats, studded bomber jackets – distributed in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and abroad.

His family resides in the accommodations below and laborers and sewers – laborers from different regions – reside in the same building, permitting him to manage costs. Outside Dharavi's enclave, housing costs are typically 10 times more expensive for basic accommodation.

Threats and Warning

Within the government offices nearby, a visual representation of the transformation initiative shows an alternative perspective. Slickly dressed inhabitants move around on cycles and electric vehicles, purchasing international bread and breakfast items and socializing on a patio near a restaurant and dessert parlor. This depicts a complete departure from the inexpensive idli sambar morning meal and 5-rupee chai that supports Dharavi's community.

"This isn't improvement for residents," explains Shaikh. "This constitutes a huge property transaction that will price people out for our community to continue."

There is also concern of the business conglomerate. Managed by a powerful tycoon – a leading figure and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the corporation has been subject to claims of crony capitalism and questionable practices, which it denies.

Although administrative bodies labels it a joint project, the developer contributed $950m for its 80% stake. A lawsuit stating that the project was improperly granted to the corporation is pending in India's supreme court.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to publicly resist the development, local opponents assert they have been faced an extended period of coercion and warning – involving communications, explicit warnings and insinuations that opposing the project was comparable with opposing national interests – by people they allege are associated with the business conglomerate.

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