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For months, intimidating phone calls recurred. Originally, supposedly from a retired cop and a retired army general, subsequently from law enforcement directly. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh claims he was summoned to the police station and told clearly: keep quiet or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is one of many resisting a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan where one of India's largest slums – a massive informal community with rich history – faces razed and modernized by a large business group.

"The unique ecosystem of Dharavi is like nowhere else in the globe," says Shaikh. "However they want to eradicate our community and stop us speaking out."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of this community present a dramatic difference to the soaring skyscrapers and luxury apartments that loom over the area. Residences are built haphazardly and typically missing basic amenities, small-scale operations release harmful emissions and the atmosphere is permeated by the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

Among some individuals, the vision of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, organized recreational areas, modern retail complexes and residences with two toilets is an optimistic future realized.

"We don't have proper healthcare, roads or drainage and there are no spaces for kids to enjoy," says A Selvin Nadar, 56, who migrated from southern India in that period. "The only way is to clear the area and build us new homes."

Community Resistance

However, some, such as the leather artisan, are opposing the redevelopment.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, long neglected as unauthorized settlement, is in stark need financial support and improvement. However they worry that this plan – without public consultation – might turn a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, evicting the disadvantaged, migrant communities who have been there since the late 1800s.

It was these marginalized, migrant workers who established the vacant wetlands into a widely studied marvel of local enterprise and commercial output, whose production is estimated at between a significant amount and two million dollars per year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about one million people living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer area, less than 50% will be eligible for new homes in the redevelopment, which is projected to take seven years to complete. The remainder will be transferred to wastelands and coastal regions on the far outskirts of Mumbai, risking divide a generations-old social network. A portion will be denied residences at all.

Residents permitted to stay in the area will be provided units in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the evolved, communal way of living and working that has supported Dharavi for so long.

Commercial activities from garment work to clay work and recycling are projected to decrease in quantity and be transferred to a designated "business area" far from residential areas.

Existential Threat

For those such as the leather artisan, a workshop owner and third generation of his family to call home this community, the project presents an existential threat. His rickety, three-floor operation produces garments – tailored coats, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – sold in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and abroad.

Household members resides in the accommodations underneath and laborers and sewers – migrants from north India – also sleep in the same building, permitting him to sustain operations. Outside the slum, accommodation prices are typically significantly more expensive for a single room.

Pressure and Coercion

At the official facilities nearby, a conceptual model of the redevelopment plan shows a contrasting perspective. Well-groomed people move around on cycles and eco-friendly transport, acquiring continental bread and pastries and socializing on a patio outside Dharavi Cafe and treat station. It is a complete departure from the inexpensive idli sambar first meal and 5-rupee chai that maintains local residents.

"This represents no development for our community," states the artisan. "It's a huge property transaction that will make it unaffordable for our community to continue."

There is also skepticism of the development company. Managed by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and an associate of the government head – the conglomerate has encountered allegations of preferential treatment and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

Although administrative bodies labels it a partnership, the corporation contributed $950m for its 80% stake. A case claiming that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the business group is pending in the top court.

Ongoing Pressure

From when they initiated to actively protest the redevelopment, local opponents state they have been subjected to ongoing efforts of pressure and threats – comprising messages, clear intimidation and insinuations that criticizing the project was equivalent to opposing national interests – by figures they claim work for the corporate group.

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