Intimidation, Apprehension and Optimism as Mumbai Inhabitants Await Redevelopment

Over an extended period, coercive phone calls continued. At first, reportedly from a retired cop and a former defense officer, and then from the authorities. Ultimately, one resident claims he was ordered to the police station and instructed bluntly: remain silent or encounter real trouble.

The leather artisan is one of many fighting a multimillion-dollar initiative where one of India's largest slums – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – is scheduled to be bulldozed and redeveloped by a large business group.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is unparalleled in the world," says Shaikh. "However the plan aims to destroy our community and silence our voices."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of this community sit in stark contrast to the high-rise structures and luxury apartments that overshadow the settlement. Residences are constructed informally and frequently missing basic amenities, unregulated industries emit toxic smoke and the atmosphere is filled with the unpleasant stench of open sewers.

To some, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a developed area of luxury high-rises, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and homes with two toilets is a hopeful vision come true.

"We don't have sufficient health services, paved pathways or drainage and there are no spaces for youth to recreate," states a chai seller, fifty-six, who migrated from Tamil Nadu in 1982. "The single option is to demolish everything and provide modern residences."

Resident Opposition

Yet certain residents, like the leather artisan, are fighting against the plan.

All recognize that the slum, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is urgently needing economic input and modernization. Yet they are concerned that this project – absent of public consultation – might turn a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, evicting the lower-caste, immigrant populations who have been there since generations ago.

This involved these marginalized, migrant workers who developed the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of self-reliance and business activity, whose output is worth between one million dollars and $2m per year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Resettlement Issues

Of the roughly one million people living in the crowded sprawling area, a minority will be eligible for replacement housing in the development, which is estimated to take seven years to finish. Others will be relocated to undeveloped zones and salt plains on the far outskirts of Mumbai, potentially fragment a historic community. Certain individuals will receive no residences at all.

Those allowed to continue living in the area will be provided flats in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the evolved, communal way of residing and operating that has supported the community for generations.

Businesses from clothing production to clay work and recycling are projected to shrink in number and be moved to an allocated "business area" separated from homes.

Existential Threat

For those such as this protester, a craftsman and long-time resident to reside in this community, the plan presents an existential threat. His makeshift, three-storey operation produces garments – formal jackets, luxury coats, fashionable garments – sold in luxury boutiques in upscale neighborhoods and overseas.

Household members dwells in the accommodations underneath and laborers and tailors – laborers from different regions – live on-site, allowing him to sustain operations. Away from this community, housing costs are typically tenfold more expensive for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

Within the administrative buildings in the vicinity, an illustrated mock-up of the redevelopment plan shows a very different vision for the future. Fashionable people gather on two-wheelers and e-vehicles, purchasing international baguettes and pastries and having coffee on a terrace near a coffee shop and Ice-Cream. It is a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and budget beverage that maintains local residents.

"This isn't progress for us," says the artisan. "This constitutes a huge property transaction that will price people out for us to survive."

Furthermore, there's distrust of the development company. Headed by a powerful tycoon – a leading figure and a supporter of the national leader – the business group has been subject to claims of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it denies.

Even as the state government calls it a partnership, the business group invested nearly a billion dollars for its 80% stake. Legal proceedings alleging that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the corporation is under review in the nation's highest judicial body.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to actively protest the development, protesters and community members assert they have been experienced ongoing efforts of harassment and intimidation – involving communications, clear intimidation and suggestions that opposing the project was tantamount to speaking against the country – by people they claim work for the corporate group.

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