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For months, threatening phone calls persisted. At first, reportedly from a retired cop and a former defense officer, later from the authorities. Ultimately, one resident claims he was summoned to the local precinct and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or experience severe repercussions.

The leather artisan is among those opposing a multimillion-dollar project where one of India's largest slums – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – is scheduled to be demolished and transformed by a large business group.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is unparalleled in the globe," says the protester. "Yet they want to dismantle our way of life and silence our voices."

Opposing Environments

The dank gullies of Dharavi sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and luxury apartments that loom over the area. Residences are assembled randomly and frequently without proper sanitation, small-scale operations produce dangerous fumes and the atmosphere is permeated by the overpowering odor of open sewers.

For certain residents, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and homes with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream achieved.

"We don't have adequate medical facilities, roads or sewage systems and we have no places for youth to recreate," explains a tea vendor, fifty-six, who moved from his home state in that period. "The single option is to tear it all down and construct proper housing."

Community Resistance

However, some, such as this protester, are fighting against the redevelopment.

None deny that the slum, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need investment and development. But they fear that this initiative – lacking community input – might transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, evicting the disadvantaged, immigrant populations who have lived there since the nineteenth century.

It was these excluded, migrant workers who established the uninhabited area into a frequently examined example of local enterprise and economic productivity, whose economic value is valued at between one million dollars and two million dollars annually, making it one of the world's largest unofficial markets.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about a million residents living in the dense 2.2 square kilometer zone, fewer than half will be qualified for new homes in the development, which is estimated to take an extended timeframe to accomplish. Others will be relocated to barren areas and coastal regions on the distant periphery of the city, threatening to break up a generations-old social network. Some will not get residences at all.

Those allowed to remain in the neighborhood will be provided flats in tower blocks, a substantial change from the organic, communal way of dwelling and laboring that has maintained the community for many years.

Industries from tailoring to ceramic crafts and material recovery are projected to decrease in quantity and be transferred to an allocated "business area" far from people's residences.

Existential Threat

For residents like this protester, a leather artisan and multi-generational inhabitant to call home Dharavi, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His rickety, multi-level facility produces leather coats – formal jackets, premium outerwear, studded bomber jackets – marketed in premium stores in the city's affluent areas and abroad.

His family lives in the accommodations below and employees and tailors – workers from north India – also sleep there, permitting him to manage costs. Beyond this community, accommodation prices are often tenfold as high for a single room.

Pressure and Coercion

At the government offices in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the redevelopment plan illustrates a contrasting perspective. Well-groomed people move around on cycles and e-vehicles, buying continental baked goods and breakfast items and enlisting beverages on a patio outside Dharavi Cafe and dessert parlor. This depicts a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar breakfast and 5-rupee chai that supports Dharavi's community.

"This represents no improvement for us," explains the artisan. "This constitutes an enormous land development that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

Furthermore, there's skepticism of the corporate group. Run by an influential industrialist – a leading figure and a supporter of the national leader – the conglomerate has encountered allegations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

While administrative bodies describes it as a partnership, the corporation invested a significant amount for its majority share. Legal proceedings alleging that the project was unfairly awarded to the developer is pending in India's supreme court.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to vocally oppose the project, protesters and community members assert they have been faced ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – comprising messages, clear intimidation and implications that opposing the project was comparable with anti-national sentiment – by people they assert represent the developer.

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