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Over an extended period, intimidating communications persisted. Initially, supposedly from a former police officer and an ex-military commander, later from the authorities. Finally, one resident claims he was ordered to the police station and told clearly: remain silent or encounter real trouble.

Shaikh is one of many fighting a expensive redevelopment plan where this historic settlement – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – faces bulldozed and redeveloped by a large business group.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is like nowhere else in the world," states Shaikh. "Yet the plan aims to destroy our social fabric and silence our voices."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of Dharavi sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and luxury apartments that loom over the area. Residences are assembled randomly and frequently missing basic amenities, unregulated industries emit toxic smoke and the environment is saturated with the overpowering odor of open sewers.

Among some individuals, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of luxury high-rises, organized recreational areas, contemporary malls and homes with two toilets is a hopeful vision realized.

"We lack sufficient health services, paved pathways or sewage systems and we have no places for youth to recreate," explains a chai seller, 56, who moved from Tamil Nadu in that period. "The sole solution is to clear the area and provide modern residences."

Community Resistance

But others, such as the leather artisan, are fighting against the plan.

All recognize that the slum, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is urgently needing economic input and modernization. However they fear that this plan – absent of public consultation – is one that will transform premium city property into a luxury development, forcing out the lower-caste, working-class residents who have been there since the late 1800s.

This involved these shunned, relocated individuals who established the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of community resilience and commercial output, whose economic value is estimated at between $1m and two million dollars annually, making it among the globe's biggest informal economies.

Displacement Concerns

Of the roughly one million residents living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer zone, less than 50% will be able for new homes in the development, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to finish. Others will be transferred to undeveloped zones and saline fields on the distant periphery of Mumbai, threatening to divide a long-established neighborhood. A portion will be denied housing at all.

Those allowed to continue living in Dharavi will be provided flats in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the evolved, collective approach of residing and operating that has maintained Dharavi for generations.

Industries from garment work to clay work and recycling are expected to shrink in number and be relocated to an allocated "industrial sector" separated from people's residences.

Existential Threat

In the case of the leather artisan, a workshop owner and multi-generational resident to live in this community, the redevelopment presents a survival challenge. His informal, three-storey workshop creates leather coats – formal jackets, luxury coats, decorated jackets – marketed in high-end shops in upscale neighborhoods and internationally.

Household members lives in the accommodations downstairs and employees and tailors – workers from different regions – live in the same building, enabling him to manage costs. Outside the slum, housing costs are typically significantly more expensive for a single room.

Harassment and Intimidation

In the official facilities nearby, a visual representation of the transformation initiative illustrates a contrasting vision for the future. Slickly dressed inhabitants gather on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, purchasing international baguettes and croissants and enlisting beverages on a patio near a restaurant and Ice-Cream. This represents a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and 5-rupee chai that supports local residents.

"This represents no development for our community," says Shaikh. "It's an enormous property transaction that will render it impossible for residents to remain."

Additionally, there exists distrust of the development company. Headed by a powerful tycoon – a leading figure and an associate of the Indian prime minister – the business group has faced accusations of crony capitalism and questionable practices, which it disputes.

Even as administrative bodies describes it as a joint project, the developer paid a significant amount for its majority share. A lawsuit alleging that the redevelopment was unfairly awarded to the corporation is pending in India's supreme court.

Continued Intimidation

After they started to vocally oppose the project, Shaikh and other residents assert they have been experienced ongoing efforts of pressure and threats – involving messages, explicit warnings and implications that speaking against the initiative was comparable with speaking against the country – by people they claim are associated with the business conglomerate.

Part of the group suspected of delivering warnings is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c