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Over an extended period, coercive communications continued. Originally, supposedly from a retired cop and a former defense officer, and then from the police themselves. In the end, one resident states he was summoned to law enforcement headquarters and warned explicitly: keep quiet or encounter real trouble.

The leather artisan is one of many opposing a multimillion-dollar initiative where this historic settlement – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – is scheduled to be demolished and transformed by a large business group.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is exceptional in the world," says the protester. "But the plan aims to eradicate our social fabric and prevent our protests."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of the slum sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and luxury apartments that loom over the neighborhood. Homes are constructed informally and typically missing basic amenities, unregulated industries produce dangerous fumes and the air is filled with the suffocating smell of exposed drainage.

Among some individuals, the promise of a renewed Dharavi into a developed area of high-end towers, organized recreational areas, modern retail complexes and homes with proper sanitation is an aspirational dream achieved.

"We don't have sufficient health services, paved pathways or water management and there are no spaces for children to play," explains A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who relocated from southern India in 1982. "The single option is to tear it all down and construct proper housing."

Local Protest

However, some, like this protester, are opposing the redevelopment.

None deny that the slum, long neglected as informal housing, is urgently needing financial support and improvement. But they are concerned that this initiative – lacking community input – could potentially convert a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, evicting the disadvantaged, migrant communities who have lived there since the late 1800s.

This involved these marginalized, migrant workers who developed the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose output is valued at between a significant amount and $2m a year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Resettlement Issues

Of the roughly one million residents living in the dense 220-hectare area, a minority will be qualified for alternative accommodation in the redevelopment, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to accomplish. Others will be transferred to barren areas and salt plains on the far outskirts of the city, risking divide a long-established neighborhood. Certain individuals will be denied residences at all.

Residents permitted to continue living in the neighborhood will be given units in tower blocks, a significant rupture from the evolved, communal way of residing and operating that has maintained Dharavi for many years.

Industries from clothing production to ceramic crafts and waste processing are projected to decrease in quantity and be transferred to a designated "commercial zone" distant from people's residences.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of the leather artisan, a craftsman and third generation inhabitant to call home the slum, the project presents a survival challenge. His informal, multi-level workshop produces leather coats – formal jackets, premium outerwear, decorated jackets – marketed in premium stores in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Household members lives in the accommodations downstairs and employees and garment workers – workers from north India – also sleep on-site, enabling him to manage costs. Outside this community, Mumbai rents are often 10 times more expensive for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

Within the official facilities in the vicinity, a visual representation of the redevelopment plan shows a very different outlook. Fashionable residents move around on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, acquiring western-style baguettes and pastries and having coffee on an outdoor area outside a restaurant and Ice-Cream. This represents a stark contrast from the 20-rupee idli sambar breakfast and 5-rupee chai that sustains the neighborhood.

"This isn't development for residents," explains the protester. "It's a huge real estate deal that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

Additionally, there exists concern of the business conglomerate. Managed by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and a supporter of the government head – the corporation has faced accusations of preferential treatment and ethical concerns, which it rejects.

Although the state government calls it a collaborative effort, the developer invested nearly a billion dollars for its 80% stake. A case claiming that the initiative was improperly granted to the developer is pending in the nation's highest judicial body.

Sustained Harassment

After they started to actively protest the development, Shaikh and other residents state they have been experienced ongoing efforts of pressure and threats – comprising messages, clear intimidation and implications that speaking against the development was tantamount to anti-national sentiment – by individuals they allege work for the business conglomerate.

Part of the group accused of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c