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For months, coercive phone calls persisted. Originally, supposedly from a retired cop and a former defense officer, later from the authorities. Ultimately, one resident claims he was called to the local precinct and warned explicitly: keep quiet or experience severe repercussions.

This third-generation resident is among those opposing a expensive project where this historic settlement – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – is scheduled to be demolished and redeveloped by a corporate giant.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is unparalleled in the world," says the protester. "Yet the plan aims to destroy our way of life and stop us speaking out."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of this community sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the neighborhood. Homes are assembled randomly and typically without proper sanitation, small-scale operations release harmful emissions and the atmosphere is filled with the suffocating smell of exposed drainage.

For certain residents, the vision of a renewed Dharavi into a developed area of premium apartments, neat parks, contemporary malls and residences with two toilets is an aspirational dream come true.

"We lack proper healthcare, roads or water management and there's nowhere for kids to enjoy," states a chai seller, 56, who moved from Tamil Nadu in 1982. "The only way is to tear it all down and construct proper housing."

Resident Opposition

Yet certain residents, like the leather artisan, are fighting against the redevelopment.

All recognize that Dharavi, consistently overlooked as informal housing, is urgently needing financial support and improvement. Yet they worry that this plan – without public consultation – could potentially transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, evicting the marginalized, migrant communities who have resided there since generations ago.

These were these shunned, migrant workers who established the vacant wetlands into a frequently examined example of community resilience and business activity, whose economic value is estimated at between $1m and two million dollars annually, making it one of the world's largest unofficial markets.

Relocation Worries

Of the roughly 1 million people living in the packed sprawling area, fewer than half will be able for replacement housing in the project, which is projected to take an extended timeframe to accomplish. Others will be moved to undeveloped zones and saline fields on the distant periphery of Mumbai, risking fragment a historic neighborhood. Some will not get housing at all.

People eligible to continue living in the neighborhood will be provided apartments in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the organic, shared lifestyle of residing and operating that has maintained this area for so long.

Businesses from clothing production to clay work and recycling are likely to reduce in scale and be relocated to a specific "business area" distant from homes.

Survival Challenge

In the case of this protester, a workshop owner and third generation resident to live in Dharavi, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His informal, three-floor workshop creates garments – formal jackets, suede trenches, fashionable garments – sold in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and abroad.

His family lives in the accommodations downstairs and employees and sewers – laborers from north India – also sleep there, allowing him to sustain operations. Away from Dharavi's enclave, housing costs are frequently significantly as high for a single room.

Harassment and Intimidation

At the government offices nearby, a visual representation of the redevelopment plan illustrates a contrasting outlook. Well-groomed residents move around on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, buying continental baguettes and croissants and enlisting beverages on a patio near a coffee shop and treat station. This depicts a world away from the affordable idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that sustains the neighborhood.

"This represents no progress for our community," states the artisan. "It represents a massive real estate deal that will price people out for our community to continue."

Furthermore, there's concern of the development company. Managed by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and a supporter of the government head – the business group has encountered allegations of preferential treatment and ethical concerns, which it denies.

Although the state government describes it as a joint project, the corporation contributed nearly a billion dollars for its majority share. A lawsuit claiming that the project was improperly granted to the developer is under review in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

After they started to actively protest the redevelopment, local opponents state they have been faced an extended period of coercion and warning – involving messages, direct threats and suggestions that criticizing the initiative was equivalent to anti-national sentiment – by figures they claim represent the business conglomerate.

Among those accused of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c