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For months, threatening communications recurred. Initially, allegedly from a retired cop and an ex-military commander, and then from the police themselves. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh claims he was called to the local precinct and told clearly: keep quiet or experience severe repercussions.

Shaikh is one of many opposing a multimillion-dollar initiative where one of India's largest slums – a massive informal community with rich history – will be bulldozed and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of the slum is unparalleled in the world," explains the resident. "However they want to dismantle our way of life and prevent our protests."

Contrasting Realities

The narrow alleys of this community sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and elite residences that dominate the settlement. Dwellings are constructed informally and often lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations produce dangerous fumes and the environment is permeated by the overpowering odor of uncovered waste channels.

Among some individuals, the vision of a renewed Dharavi into a developed area of premium apartments, neat parks, contemporary malls and homes with proper sanitation is an optimistic future come true.

"We don't have sufficient health services, paved pathways or water management and we have no places for kids to enjoy," states a chai seller, fifty-six, who migrated from southern India in the early eighties. "The only way is to clear the area and construct proper housing."

Resident Opposition

But others, including Shaikh, are resisting the project.

None deny that this community, long neglected as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need investment and development. But they fear that this project – absent of resident participation – might convert a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, displacing the disadvantaged, immigrant populations who have been there since the late 1800s.

It was these shunned, displaced people who built up the vacant wetlands into an extensively researched phenomenon of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose economic value is worth between a significant amount and $2m a year, making it among the globe's biggest informal economies.

Relocation Worries

Out of about a million inhabitants living in the packed 2.2 square kilometer zone, less than 50% will be qualified for new homes in the project, which is estimated to take a significant period to complete. Others will be moved to barren areas and coastal regions on the distant periphery of Mumbai, potentially fragment a historic community. Certain individuals will be denied housing at all.

People eligible to stay in Dharavi will be provided apartments in high-rise buildings, a significant rupture from the natural, collective approach of residing and operating that has supported this area for generations.

Industries from clothing production to clay work and material recovery are likely to decrease in quantity and be relocated to a specific "industrial sector" far from homes.

Livelihood Crisis

For those such as Shaikh, a craftsman and multi-generational inhabitant to reside in this community, the project presents a fundamental risk. His rickety, multi-level facility creates garments – formal jackets, luxury coats, fashionable garments – marketed in premium stores in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Relatives lives in the rooms downstairs and his workers and garment workers – laborers from different regions – also sleep in the same building, enabling him to afford their labour. Beyond Dharavi's enclave, housing costs are frequently significantly more expensive for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

Within the government offices nearby, a visual representation of the transformation initiative shows a contrasting perspective. Slickly dressed people mill about on two-wheelers and e-vehicles, acquiring continental baguettes and breakfast items and having coffee on a patio outside Dharavi Cafe and dessert parlor. This represents a world away from the inexpensive idli sambar morning meal and 5-rupee chai that sustains the neighborhood.

"This isn't progress for residents," says the protester. "It represents an enormous real estate deal that will price people out for us to survive."

Furthermore, there's distrust of the business conglomerate. Managed by an influential industrialist – one of India's most powerful and a supporter of the national leader – the corporation has faced accusations of favoritism and ethical concerns, which it disputes.

Even as local authorities describes it as a partnership, the developer contributed nearly a billion dollars for its majority share. Legal proceedings stating that the project was questionably assigned to the business group is being considered in India's supreme court.

Ongoing Pressure

Since they began to publicly resist the development, protesters and community members state they have been experienced an extended period of harassment and intimidation – comprising communications, direct threats and suggestions that criticizing the development was tantamount to opposing national interests – by individuals 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