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For months, intimidating communications persisted. At first, reportedly from a former police officer and a retired army general, and then from the authorities. Finally, one resident asserts he was ordered to the local precinct and told clearly: stop speaking out or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is among those fighting a multimillion-dollar initiative where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – faces bulldozed and transformed by a corporate giant.

"The unique ecosystem of the slum is exceptional in the world," states Shaikh. "Yet they want to dismantle our social fabric and silence our voices."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of the slum stand in sharp opposition to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that overshadow the settlement. Residences are constructed informally and typically lacking adequate facilities, informal businesses release harmful emissions and the environment is filled with the suffocating smell of open sewers.

Among some individuals, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of premium apartments, organized recreational areas, modern retail complexes and apartments with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream achieved.

"We don't have adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or drainage and there are no spaces for kids to enjoy," explains A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who moved from his home state in the early eighties. "The only way is to clear the area and build us new homes."

Resident Opposition

But others, like Shaikh, are fighting against the redevelopment.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, historically ignored as informal housing, is desperately requiring financial support and improvement. However they worry that this project – absent of public consultation – could potentially turn premium city property into a luxury development, evicting the marginalized, immigrant populations who have been there since the nineteenth century.

These were these marginalized, migrant workers who developed the uninhabited area into an extensively researched phenomenon of self-reliance and commercial output, whose output is worth between $1m and $2m a year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about one million inhabitants living in the crowded 2.2 square kilometer area, a minority will be able for replacement housing in the project, which is projected to take seven years to complete. Additional residents will be relocated to barren areas and saline fields on the far outskirts of the city, threatening to divide a generations-old neighborhood. Some will receive no residences at all.

People eligible to continue living in the neighborhood will be given apartments in tower blocks, a substantial change from the organic, communal way of residing and operating that has maintained Dharavi for generations.

Industries from clothing production to pottery and recycling are projected to shrink in number and be moved to a specific "business area" separated from residential areas.

Survival Challenge

For those such as this protester, a craftsman and long-time inhabitant to reside in this community, the redevelopment presents an existential threat. His rickety, multi-level facility makes apparel – sharp blazers, suede trenches, fashionable garments – marketed in high-end shops in south Mumbai and abroad.

His family lives in the accommodations below and his workers and garment workers – laborers from north India – reside there, permitting him to afford their labour. Outside the slum, accommodation prices are typically 10 times as high for basic accommodation.

Harassment and Intimidation

At the administrative buildings in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project illustrates a contrasting perspective. Fashionable residents gather on two-wheelers and eco-friendly transport, purchasing international baguettes and breakfast items and having coffee on a terrace outside a coffee shop and Ice-Cream. This represents a complete departure from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and low-cost tea that sustains Dharavi's community.

"This is not development for residents," says the protester. "It's a massive property transaction that will price people out for our community to continue."

Furthermore, there's skepticism of the business conglomerate. Run by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and an associate of the Indian prime minister – the conglomerate has been subject to claims of crony capitalism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

While the state government labels it a collaborative effort, the developer invested a significant amount for its majority share. A case stating that the project was unfairly awarded to the developer is being considered in India's supreme court.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to publicly resist the redevelopment, Shaikh and other residents state they have been faced ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – involving communications, clear intimidation and insinuations that criticizing the initiative was equivalent to speaking against the country – by figures they assert work for the corporate group.

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