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Across several weeks, intimidating phone calls persisted. Originally, allegedly from a retired cop and a retired army general, later from the authorities. In the end, a local artisan states he was called to law enforcement headquarters and warned explicitly: remain silent or encounter real trouble.

The leather artisan is one of many opposing a high-value initiative where this historic settlement – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – faces razed and transformed by a corporate giant.

"The culture of this area is like nowhere else in the globe," states Shaikh. "But their intention is to dismantle our way of life and prevent our protests."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of Dharavi present a dramatic difference to the high-rise structures and luxury apartments that overshadow the neighborhood. Residences are built haphazardly and often missing basic amenities, informal businesses emit toxic smoke and the environment is permeated by the suffocating smell of uncovered waste channels.

To some, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a developed area of premium apartments, organized recreational areas, modern retail complexes and residences with two toilets is an optimistic future come true.

"We don't have sufficient health services, paved pathways or sewage systems and there's nowhere for youth to recreate," states A Selvin Nadar, 56, who migrated from his home state in the early eighties. "The only way is to tear it all down and construct proper housing."

Local Protest

However, some, including the leather artisan, are resisting the plan.

All recognize that the slum, long neglected as unauthorized settlement, is in stark need investment and development. But they worry that this initiative – without community input – could potentially convert premium city property into an elite enclave, evicting the disadvantaged, immigrant populations who have been there since the late 1800s.

This involved these excluded, migrant workers who established the vacant wetlands into an extensively researched phenomenon of self-reliance and commercial output, whose output is worth between one million dollars and $2m annually, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Relocation Worries

Out of about 1 million residents living in the dense sprawling area, fewer than half will be qualified for new homes in the project, which is expected to take an extended timeframe to finish. The remainder will be relocated to wastelands and coastal regions on the far outskirts of the metropolis, threatening to fragment a historic neighborhood. Some will not get housing at all.

Residents permitted to continue living in the area will be given units in high-rise buildings, a significant rupture from the natural, collective approach of residing and operating that has supported the community for many years.

Businesses from clothing production to pottery and material recovery are likely to shrink in number and be transferred to a specific "industrial sector" far from residential areas.

Existential Threat

In the case of the leather artisan, a craftsman and third generation resident to call home Dharavi, the project presents an existential threat. His informal, multi-level workshop produces leather coats – formal jackets, premium outerwear, fashionable garments – sold in premium stores in south Mumbai and overseas.

His family resides in the accommodations downstairs and employees and sewers – migrants from different regions – live on-site, enabling him to afford their labour. Beyond Dharavi's enclave, Mumbai rents are often 10 times costlier for basic accommodation.

Pressure and Coercion

In the government offices in the vicinity, a conceptual model of the Dharavi project illustrates a very different vision for the future. Fashionable residents gather on cycles and electric vehicles, purchasing continental baguettes and breakfast items and enlisting beverages on a terrace outside a restaurant and dessert parlor. This represents a stark contrast from the 20-rupee idli sambar breakfast and 5-rupee chai that supports local residents.

"This is not improvement for residents," says the artisan. "It represents a huge real estate deal that will price people out for us to survive."

Additionally, there exists concern of the development company. Managed by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and an associate of the government head – the conglomerate has been subject to claims of favoritism and ethical concerns, which it disputes.

While the state government labels it a partnership, the developer paid nearly a billion dollars for its majority share. Legal proceedings alleging that the redevelopment was questionably assigned to the corporation is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Sustained Harassment

From when they initiated to actively protest the development, local opponents state they have been subjected to an extended period of pressure and threats – involving phone calls, direct threats and implications that opposing the project was equivalent to speaking against the country – by individuals they assert work for the corporate group.

Included in these suspected of delivering warnings is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c