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Over an extended period, coercive phone calls recurred. At first, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, and then from law enforcement directly. Finally, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh claims he was called to the local precinct and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or experience severe repercussions.

Shaikh is among those resisting a expensive project where Dharavi – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – is scheduled to be bulldozed and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of the slum is unparalleled in the globe," states the resident. "Yet the plan aims to destroy our social fabric and prevent our protests."

Contrasting Realities

The narrow alleys of this community stand in sharp opposition to the soaring skyscrapers and elite residences that overshadow the settlement. Dwellings are built haphazardly and often missing basic amenities, unregulated industries emit toxic smoke and the environment is permeated by the overpowering odor of uncovered waste channels.

For certain residents, the promise of Dharavi transformed into a modern district of high-end towers, neat parks, shiny shopping centers and apartments with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream come true.

"We lack sufficient health services, proper streets or sewage systems and we have no places for children to play," states a tea vendor, 56, who moved from southern India in the early eighties. "The single option is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Resident Opposition

However, some, such as Shaikh, are fighting against the project.

None deny that Dharavi, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need economic input and modernization. Yet they worry that this project – lacking public consultation – might convert premium city property into a luxury development, forcing out the marginalized, working-class residents who have resided there since the late 1800s.

It was these shunned, migrant workers who built up the empty marshland into a frequently examined example of community resilience and business activity, whose economic value is valued at between $1m and $2m a year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Relocation Worries

Out of about one million residents living in the crowded sprawling area, less than 50% will be eligible for new homes in the project, which is estimated to take seven years to finish. The remainder will be transferred to wastelands and saline fields on the far outskirts of the city, risking break up a generations-old community. Certain individuals will receive no homes at all.

Residents permitted to remain in the area will be allocated units in multi-story structures, a significant rupture from the organic, shared lifestyle of living and working that has maintained the community for generations.

Commercial activities from garment work to pottery and waste processing are projected to decrease in quantity and be moved to a designated "commercial zone" far from people's residences.

Existential Threat

In the case of the leather artisan, a workshop owner and long-time of his family to reside in the slum, the project presents a fundamental risk. His informal, multi-level workshop creates apparel – formal jackets, suede trenches, fashionable garments – marketed in high-end shops in south Mumbai and abroad.

His family resides in the accommodations downstairs and laborers and garment workers – workers from north India – reside on-site, allowing him to sustain operations. Beyond the slum, Mumbai rents are typically tenfold more expensive for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

Within the administrative buildings in the vicinity, a visual representation of the transformation initiative shows an alternative outlook. Well-groomed residents mill about on bicycles and eco-friendly transport, buying international bread and breakfast items and enlisting beverages on a patio adjacent to a restaurant and treat station. This depicts a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that supports the neighborhood.

"This represents no improvement for residents," states the artisan. "It's a massive land development that will price people out for our community to continue."

Additionally, there exists distrust of the corporate group. Run by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and an associate of the national leader – the business group has been subject to claims of crony capitalism and financial impropriety, which it rejects.

Although administrative bodies calls it a joint project, the business group paid nearly a billion dollars for its majority share. Legal proceedings claiming that the project was questionably assigned to the corporation is under review in India's supreme court.

Sustained Harassment

After they started to actively protest the project, Shaikh and other residents state they have been faced ongoing efforts of harassment and intimidation – including communications, clear intimidation and insinuations that opposing the initiative was tantamount to speaking against the country – by people they claim represent the corporate group.

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