Threats, Fear and Hope as Mumbai Inhabitants Face the Bulldozers

Over an extended period, intimidating communications continued. At first, reportedly from a former police officer and a retired army general, later from the authorities. Finally, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh asserts he was called to law enforcement headquarters and told clearly: stop speaking out or experience severe repercussions.

Shaikh is among those resisting a multimillion-dollar initiative where this historic settlement – a massive informal community with rich history – will be bulldozed and transformed by a corporate giant.

"The culture of the slum is exceptional in the world," says Shaikh. "However the plan aims to destroy our community and prevent our protests."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of this community sit in stark contrast to the high-rise structures and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the neighborhood. Dwellings are built haphazardly and frequently lacking adequate facilities, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the air is permeated by the overpowering odor of exposed drainage.

Among some individuals, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of luxury high-rises, organized recreational areas, modern retail complexes and apartments with proper sanitation is a hopeful vision achieved.

"We lack sufficient health services, paved pathways or sewage systems and there's nowhere for children to play," states a chai seller, in his fifties, who migrated from Tamil Nadu in the early eighties. "The single option is to tear it all down and construct proper housing."

Local Protest

Yet certain residents, such as this protester, are fighting against the project.

Everyone acknowledges that this community, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is desperately requiring investment and development. But they are concerned that this project – lacking public consultation – is one that will turn premium city property into a playground for the rich, displacing the lower-caste, immigrant populations who have lived there since the late 1800s.

It was these excluded, displaced people who established the uninhabited area into a widely studied marvel of self-reliance and business activity, whose economic value is valued at between one million dollars and two million dollars annually, making it among the globe's biggest unofficial markets.

Resettlement Issues

Out of about one million inhabitants living in the crowded sprawling area, a minority will be qualified for replacement housing in the project, which is expected to take a significant period to accomplish. The remainder will be relocated to barren areas and coastal regions on the remote edges of the city, threatening to divide a generations-old community. Some will not get residences at all.

Residents permitted to continue living in Dharavi will be allocated flats in multi-story structures, a major break from the organic, communal way of dwelling and laboring that has maintained the community for many years.

Commercial activities from garment work to pottery and recycling are expected to shrink in number and be transferred to a specific "business area" distant from homes.

Survival Challenge

In the case of Shaikh, a leather artisan and third generation resident to reside in Dharavi, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His rickety, three-storey facility makes garments – tailored coats, luxury coats, decorated jackets – sold in luxury boutiques in upscale neighborhoods and abroad.

Relatives resides in the rooms underneath and laborers and sewers – workers from different regions – also sleep there, allowing him to manage costs. Beyond Dharavi's enclave, Mumbai rents are typically 10 times costlier for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

Within the administrative buildings in the vicinity, a conceptual model of the redevelopment plan depicts a contrasting vision for the future. Well-groomed people gather on two-wheelers and electric vehicles, buying western-style baguettes and pastries and enlisting beverages on an outdoor area adjacent to a restaurant and Ice-Cream. It is a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar first meal and budget beverage that sustains Dharavi's community.

"This is not improvement for our community," explains the artisan. "It represents a huge property transaction that will make it unaffordable for our community to continue."

Additionally, there exists distrust of the corporate group. Headed by a prominent businessman – one of India's most powerful and a close ally of the Indian prime minister – the conglomerate has encountered allegations of favoritism and ethical concerns, which it disputes.

While local authorities calls it a joint project, the corporation contributed $950m for its controlling interest. Legal proceedings claiming that the redevelopment was questionably assigned to the corporation is under review in the top court.

Continued Intimidation

Since they began to publicly resist the project, protesters and community members state they have been subjected to ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – involving messages, direct threats and implications that opposing the initiative was equivalent to opposing national interests – by people they allege work for the developer.

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