🔗 Share this article

Across several weeks, coercive communications recurred. Initially, reportedly from a retired cop and an ex-military commander, and then from the authorities. Finally, a local artisan claims he was summoned to the local precinct and warned explicitly: remain silent or face serious consequences.

This third-generation resident is part of a group resisting a expensive redevelopment plan where one of India's largest slums – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be demolished and modernized by a large business group.

"The culture of the slum is unparalleled in the globe," explains the resident. "But the plan aims to destroy our way of life and silence our voices."

Dual Worlds

The cramped lanes of the slum present a dramatic difference to the towering buildings and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the area. Homes are constructed informally and typically lacking adequate facilities, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the atmosphere is filled with the suffocating smell of uncovered waste channels.

To some, the promise of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of luxury high-rises, neat parks, contemporary malls and homes with multiple bathrooms is an optimistic future come true.

"We don't have sufficient health services, roads or drainage and we have no places for kids to enjoy," says a tea vendor, fifty-six, who moved from his home state in that period. "The only way is to demolish everything and build us new homes."

Resident Opposition

But others, such as the leather artisan, are opposing the project.

All recognize that Dharavi, long neglected as informal housing, is in stark need economic input and modernization. But they fear that this initiative – lacking community input – could potentially convert a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into an elite enclave, forcing out the disadvantaged, working-class residents who have been there since the nineteenth century.

These were these shunned, migrant workers who developed the empty marshland into a frequently examined example of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose economic value is worth between one million dollars and a substantial sum a year, making it among the globe's biggest unofficial markets.

Displacement Concerns

Out of about 1 million people living in the crowded 220-hectare area, less than 50% will be qualified for replacement housing in the redevelopment, which is expected to take a significant period to finish. Others will be transferred to undeveloped zones and salt plains on the distant periphery of the city, threatening to break up a long-established neighborhood. Certain individuals will receive no homes at all.

People eligible to continue living in Dharavi will be provided apartments in multi-story structures, a major break from the natural, shared lifestyle of living and working that has supported the community for many years.

Commercial activities from tailoring to pottery and material recovery are expected to reduce in scale and be moved to a specific "business area" far from people's residences.

Survival Challenge

In the case of this protester, a craftsman and long-time resident to call home Dharavi, the project presents a survival challenge. His makeshift, three-storey workshop creates apparel – sharp blazers, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – sold in premium stores in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Household members resides in the accommodations downstairs and laborers and garment workers – laborers from other states – reside on-site, allowing him to manage costs. Away from the slum, housing costs are frequently 10 times more expensive for basic accommodation.

Harassment and Intimidation

Within the administrative buildings nearby, a conceptual model of the Dharavi project illustrates an alternative outlook. Slickly dressed inhabitants gather on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, buying western-style bread and breakfast items and socializing on an outdoor area adjacent to Dharavi Cafe and treat station. It is a stark contrast from the inexpensive idli sambar morning meal and low-cost tea that sustains local residents.

"This represents no development for residents," says the protester. "It's a massive real estate deal that will render it impossible for our community to continue."

There is also concern of the business conglomerate. Managed by a powerful tycoon – one of India's most powerful and a supporter of the government head – the corporation has been subject to claims of preferential treatment and questionable practices, which it rejects.

Even as the state government labels it a partnership, the corporation contributed $950m for its controlling interest. Legal proceedings alleging that the initiative was improperly granted to the corporation is being considered in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to actively protest the project, protesters and community members assert they have been faced ongoing efforts of pressure and threats – including messages, clear intimidation and insinuations that opposing the development was comparable with anti-national sentiment – by individuals they allege represent the corporate group.

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