🔗 Share this article

Across several weeks, threatening communications persisted. At first, reportedly from a retired cop and a former defense officer, later from the authorities. In the end, a local artisan claims he was called to the local precinct and warned explicitly: remain silent or experience severe repercussions.

The leather artisan is part of a group opposing a expensive project where this historic settlement – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be razed and redeveloped by a corporate giant.

"The unique ecosystem of the slum is unparalleled in the world," explains the protester. "Yet their intention is to destroy our way of life and prevent our protests."

Dual Worlds

The cramped lanes of this community present a dramatic difference to the towering buildings and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the neighborhood. Residences are constructed informally and often lacking adequate facilities, unregulated industries emit toxic smoke and the air is saturated with the overpowering odor of uncovered waste channels.

For certain residents, the vision of a renewed Dharavi into a developed area of luxury high-rises, neat parks, modern retail complexes and residences with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream achieved.

"We don't have adequate medical facilities, proper streets or drainage and there are no spaces for kids to enjoy," explains a chai seller, fifty-six, who moved from his home state in 1982. "The sole solution is to tear it all down and construct proper housing."

Resident Opposition

But others, such as Shaikh, are resisting the project.

Everyone acknowledges that the slum, historically ignored as unauthorized settlement, is urgently needing investment and development. Yet they worry that this initiative – lacking public consultation – could potentially transform premium city property into an elite enclave, forcing out the marginalized, migrant communities who have been there since generations ago.

These were these excluded, migrant workers who developed the uninhabited area into a frequently examined example of community resilience and business activity, whose output is valued at between $1m and two million dollars per year, making it one of the world's largest informal economies.

Displacement Concerns

Out of about 1 million inhabitants living in the packed 220-hectare area, fewer than half will be qualified for alternative accommodation in the project, which is estimated to take a significant period to finish. The remainder will be transferred to barren areas and coastal regions on the far outskirts of the city, risking divide a long-established social network. Certain individuals will receive no housing at all.

Those allowed to remain in the area will be provided units in tower blocks, a significant rupture from the natural, collective approach of residing and operating that has maintained this area for many years.

Businesses from clothing production to clay work and waste processing are projected to shrink in number and be transferred to an allocated "commercial zone" far from homes.

Existential Threat

For residents like this protester, a leather artisan and multi-generational of his family to live in Dharavi, the plan presents a survival challenge. His informal, three-floor operation produces apparel – sharp blazers, luxury coats, studded bomber jackets – distributed in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and internationally.

Relatives lives in the accommodations underneath and his workers and sewers – migrants from different regions – live in the same building, allowing him to sustain operations. Outside Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are often tenfold as high for a single room.

Threats and Warning

In the administrative buildings in the vicinity, a conceptual model of the Dharavi project illustrates a contrasting vision for the future. Slickly dressed people gather on cycles and e-vehicles, purchasing continental baguettes and pastries and socializing on a patio adjacent to a coffee shop and Ice-Cream. This depicts a world away from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and low-cost tea that supports local residents.

"This is not improvement for our community," states the protester. "It's a massive real estate deal that will render it impossible for our community to continue."

Additionally, there exists skepticism of the development company. Managed by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and a close ally of the Indian prime minister – the business group has faced accusations of preferential treatment and ethical concerns, which it disputes.

Even as local authorities calls it a joint project, the business group invested nearly a billion dollars for its 80% stake. A case stating that the initiative was unfairly awarded to the developer is under review in India's supreme court.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to actively protest the redevelopment, local opponents assert they have been experienced an extended period of harassment and intimidation – involving phone calls, explicit warnings and suggestions that opposing the initiative was tantamount to opposing national interests – by individuals they allege work for the corporate group.

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