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For months, threatening messages continued. Initially, supposedly from a former police officer and an ex-military commander, subsequently from the authorities. In the end, a local artisan claims he was ordered to the police station and told clearly: keep quiet or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is among those opposing a high-value initiative where one of India's largest slums – a massive informal community with rich history – will be demolished and modernized by a corporate giant.

"The distinctive community of this area is like nowhere else in the globe," explains the resident. "Yet they want to eradicate our way of life and prevent our protests."

Opposing Environments

The narrow alleys of this community sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the neighborhood. Homes are assembled randomly and often missing basic amenities, informal businesses release harmful emissions and the atmosphere is permeated by the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

To some, the promise of a renewed Dharavi into a developed area of premium apartments, organized recreational areas, contemporary malls and homes with two toilets is an aspirational dream realized.

"We lack proper healthcare, proper streets or water management and we have no places for youth to recreate," says A Selvin Nadar, fifty-six, who moved from his home state in 1982. "The only way is to demolish everything and build us new homes."

Resident Opposition

But others, like the leather artisan, are resisting the redevelopment.

None deny that the slum, consistently overlooked as informal housing, is in stark need investment and development. However they are concerned that this plan – without community input – could potentially transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a playground for the rich, evicting the disadvantaged, working-class residents who have been there since the late 1800s.

It was these shunned, displaced people who developed the uninhabited area into an extensively researched phenomenon of local enterprise and economic productivity, whose economic value is worth between one million dollars and a substantial sum annually, making it one of the world's largest informal economies.

Relocation Worries

Out of about one million people living in the packed 220-hectare zone, a minority will be able for replacement housing in the development, which is expected to take a significant period to complete. Additional residents will be transferred to wastelands and coastal regions on the far outskirts of the metropolis, potentially break up a long-established community. A portion will not get housing at all.

People eligible to stay in the neighborhood will be provided apartments in high-rise buildings, a substantial change from the natural, communal way of residing and operating that has sustained the community for many years.

Industries from clothing production to pottery and material recovery are projected to decrease in quantity and be transferred to a designated "business area" far from residential areas.

Existential Threat

In the case of the leather artisan, a workshop owner and third generation resident to live in this community, the project presents a fundamental risk. His informal, multi-level operation produces apparel – formal jackets, premium outerwear, decorated jackets – distributed in luxury boutiques in upscale neighborhoods and abroad.

Household members resides in the accommodations downstairs and employees and garment workers – migrants from different regions – live on-site, enabling him to afford their labour. Outside this community, accommodation prices are frequently tenfold costlier for basic accommodation.

Threats and Warning

In the government offices close by, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project depicts a contrasting outlook. Slickly dressed inhabitants gather on cycles and e-vehicles, buying international baked goods and pastries and enlisting beverages on a terrace outside a restaurant and treat station. It is a stark contrast from the 20-rupee idli sambar first meal and low-cost tea that supports local residents.

"This represents no improvement for residents," says the artisan. "It represents an enormous property transaction that will price people out for residents to remain."

Furthermore, there's distrust of the business conglomerate. Headed by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and a supporter of the government head – the corporation has been subject to claims of preferential treatment and financial impropriety, which it denies.

Although administrative bodies calls it a joint project, the business group invested a significant amount for its 80% stake. A case stating that the project was improperly granted to the developer is under review in India's supreme court.

Sustained Harassment

Since they began to vocally oppose the development, Shaikh and other residents claim they have been faced ongoing efforts of pressure and threats – including communications, direct threats and insinuations that opposing the initiative was equivalent to opposing national interests – by figures they allege are associated with the developer.

Among those suspected of issuing the threats is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c