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For months, intimidating phone calls continued. Initially, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, and then from the police themselves. In the end, one resident states he was called to the police station and told clearly: stop speaking out or experience severe repercussions.

This third-generation resident is part of a group resisting a high-value redevelopment plan where one of India's largest slums – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – will be bulldozed and redeveloped by a large business group.

"The distinctive community of this area is exceptional in the planet," says the resident. "But their intention is to dismantle our way of life and stop us speaking out."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of Dharavi present a dramatic difference to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the area. Residences are built haphazardly and frequently missing basic amenities, unregulated industries produce dangerous fumes and the air is filled with the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

For certain residents, the promise of the slum's redevelopment into a developed area of premium apartments, neat parks, modern retail complexes and apartments with two toilets is a hopeful vision realized.

"We don't have adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or water management and there are no spaces for children to play," states a chai seller, in his fifties, who migrated from southern India in that period. "The only way is to clear the area and build us new homes."

Local Protest

However, some, such as this protester, are fighting against the plan.

All recognize that the slum, historically ignored as informal housing, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. Yet they worry that this initiative – absent of community input – could potentially turn a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a playground for the rich, forcing out the marginalized, immigrant populations who have resided there since the late 1800s.

These were these excluded, displaced people who built up the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of community resilience and commercial output, whose production is estimated at between a significant amount and a substantial sum per year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about one million residents living in the crowded 220-hectare zone, a minority will be able for new homes in the redevelopment, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to accomplish. Additional residents will be moved to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the far outskirts of Mumbai, potentially fragment a generations-old neighborhood. A portion will be denied residences at all.

People eligible to stay in the neighborhood will be provided units in high-rise buildings, a major break from the natural, shared lifestyle of residing and operating that has supported Dharavi for generations.

Businesses from clothing production to ceramic crafts and waste processing are projected to reduce in scale and be moved to an allocated "industrial sector" distant from homes.

Survival Challenge

In the case of this protester, a craftsman and third generation of his family to reside in this community, the project presents a survival challenge. His informal, three-storey operation creates garments – tailored coats, premium outerwear, studded bomber jackets – distributed in high-end shops in south Mumbai and internationally.

His family lives in the accommodations underneath and employees and garment workers – workers from north India – reside there, enabling him to sustain operations. Away from Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are frequently significantly costlier for a single room.

Harassment and Intimidation

At the government offices in the vicinity, a visual representation of the redevelopment plan illustrates an alternative outlook. Fashionable residents gather on cycles and eco-friendly transport, purchasing continental bread and croissants and enlisting beverages on an outdoor area outside a restaurant and Ice-Cream. This depicts a stark contrast from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and low-cost tea that supports the neighborhood.

"This is not progress for our community," explains the artisan. "It's an enormous real estate deal that will price people out for us to survive."

Additionally, there exists distrust of the development company. Headed by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and an associate of the Indian prime minister – the conglomerate has faced accusations of crony capitalism and questionable practices, which it denies.

Although administrative bodies labels it a collaborative effort, the corporation contributed a significant amount for its majority share. A case alleging that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the business group is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Sustained Harassment

After they started to actively protest the project, local opponents assert they have been faced ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – involving messages, explicit warnings and implications that opposing the development was equivalent to opposing national interests – by people they assert work for the developer.

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