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Over an extended period, coercive phone calls continued. At first, reportedly from a retired cop and an ex-military commander, later from law enforcement directly. In the end, one resident asserts he was called to the police station and instructed bluntly: remain silent or face serious consequences.

This third-generation resident is among those resisting a high-value redevelopment plan where this historic settlement – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – faces razed and redeveloped by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of Dharavi is unparalleled in the planet," says the resident. "However the plan aims to destroy our community and prevent our protests."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of this community present a dramatic difference to the high-rise structures and Bollywood penthouses that overshadow the area. Dwellings are built haphazardly and frequently missing basic amenities, informal businesses release harmful emissions and the environment is filled with the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

For certain residents, the prospect of the slum's redevelopment into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and apartments with two toilets is an aspirational dream realized.

"We don't have proper healthcare, paved pathways or sewage systems and there are no spaces for kids to enjoy," explains a tea vendor, fifty-six, who migrated from his home state in 1982. "The sole solution is to clear the area and provide modern residences."

Resident Opposition

Yet certain residents, including the leather artisan, are resisting the project.

All recognize that the slum, long neglected as informal housing, is desperately requiring investment and development. However they fear that this plan – without community input – might convert premium city property into an elite enclave, forcing out the lower-caste, working-class residents who have been there since the late 1800s.

This involved these shunned, migrant workers who built up the vacant wetlands into a frequently examined example of community resilience and commercial output, whose production is estimated at between one million dollars and $2m per year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Relocation Worries

Among approximately 1 million residents living in the crowded 220-hectare area, a minority will be able for alternative accommodation in the development, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to complete. The remainder will be moved to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the remote edges of the metropolis, risking divide a historic neighborhood. Certain individuals will be denied residences at all.

Residents permitted to remain in the neighborhood will be provided flats in tower blocks, a major break from the natural, communal way of dwelling and laboring that has sustained Dharavi for generations.

Industries from garment work to pottery and recycling are expected to shrink in number and be moved to a specific "industrial sector" distant from residential areas.

Survival Challenge

In the case of the leather artisan, a workshop owner and third generation resident to live in Dharavi, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His makeshift, multi-level workshop creates apparel – tailored coats, luxury coats, decorated jackets – sold in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and internationally.

Household members resides in the accommodations below and laborers and sewers – migrants from north India – live in the same building, allowing him to manage costs. Beyond Dharavi's enclave, housing costs are frequently tenfold more expensive for basic accommodation.

Threats and Warning

At the official facilities nearby, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project illustrates an alternative outlook. Well-groomed residents mill about on bicycles and eco-friendly transport, buying international bread and croissants and socializing on an outdoor area near a coffee shop and treat station. It is a complete departure from the 20-rupee idli sambar first meal and low-cost tea that maintains the neighborhood.

"This is not development for our community," explains the protester. "This constitutes a massive property transaction that will render it impossible for our community to continue."

There is also distrust of the development company. Run by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and a supporter of the national leader – the corporation has encountered allegations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

While administrative bodies calls it a partnership, the corporation invested $950m for its majority share. A lawsuit stating that the initiative was improperly granted to the developer is pending in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

After they started to actively protest the development, local opponents state they have been experienced a long-running campaign of coercion and warning – comprising communications, explicit warnings and insinuations that opposing the initiative was comparable with anti-national sentiment – by individuals they assert are associated with the corporate group.

Among those suspected of delivering warnings is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c