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Over an extended period, intimidating messages recurred. Originally, supposedly from a former police officer and a retired army general, and then from the police themselves. In the end, a local artisan states he was called to the local precinct and warned explicitly: keep quiet or face serious consequences.

Shaikh is one of many fighting a high-value redevelopment plan where this historic settlement – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be demolished and redeveloped by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of this area is unparalleled in the planet," explains the resident. "However the plan aims to destroy our social fabric and prevent our protests."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of Dharavi present a dramatic difference to the high-rise structures and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the area. Dwellings are built haphazardly and typically missing basic amenities, informal businesses emit toxic smoke and the air is permeated by the overpowering odor of exposed drainage.

For certain residents, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a developed area of premium apartments, well-maintained green spaces, modern retail complexes and homes with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream come true.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, proper streets or water management and we have no places for children to play," explains a chai seller, fifty-six, who relocated from his home state in that period. "The single option is to tear it all down and construct proper housing."

Local Protest

However, some, including this protester, are fighting against the project.

All recognize that the slum, historically ignored as unauthorized settlement, is urgently needing economic input and modernization. But they fear that this initiative – without community input – is one that will convert premium city property into an elite enclave, forcing out the disadvantaged, working-class residents who have been there since the late 1800s.

It was these excluded, relocated individuals who established the empty marshland into an extensively researched phenomenon of community resilience and commercial output, whose output is valued at between a significant amount and $2m per year, making it among the globe's biggest unofficial markets.

Displacement Concerns

Among approximately one million inhabitants living in the crowded 220-hectare area, less than 50% will be qualified for new homes in the redevelopment, which is expected to take seven years to accomplish. The remainder will be relocated to barren areas and saline fields on the remote edges of the city, risking break up a generations-old social network. Certain individuals will be denied homes at all.

People eligible to remain in the area will be given flats in high-rise buildings, a major break from the natural, shared lifestyle of dwelling and laboring that has supported Dharavi for so long.

Industries from clothing production to pottery and material recovery are projected to reduce in scale and be transferred to an allocated "industrial sector" far from homes.

Existential Threat

For those such as the leather artisan, a workshop owner and multi-generational resident to live in this community, the plan presents a survival challenge. His makeshift, three-floor facility creates garments – tailored coats, luxury coats, studded bomber jackets – marketed in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and abroad.

Relatives lives in the accommodations below and his workers and garment workers – migrants from different regions – also sleep in the same building, permitting him to sustain operations. Beyond Dharavi's enclave, housing costs are frequently 10 times costlier for minimal space.

Pressure and Coercion

At the government offices nearby, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project depicts a contrasting perspective. Fashionable people gather on bicycles and e-vehicles, purchasing international baguettes and croissants and having coffee on a patio outside a coffee shop and dessert parlor. This depicts a complete departure from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and low-cost tea that supports local residents.

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

Furthermore, there's skepticism of the corporate group. Run by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the corporation has faced accusations of preferential treatment and ethical concerns, which it disputes.

Even as the state government describes it as a joint project, the corporation invested nearly a billion dollars for its majority share. Legal proceedings alleging that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the developer is being considered in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to actively protest the redevelopment, Shaikh and other residents assert they have been faced ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – including communications, clear intimidation and implications that criticizing the initiative was tantamount to speaking against the country – by individuals they allege are associated with the developer.

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