Intimidation, Anxiety and Optimism as Mumbai Inhabitants Confront Redevelopment
Over an extended period, coercive communications continued. At first, allegedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, and then from the police themselves. In the end, a local artisan claims he was called to the local precinct and told clearly: stop speaking out or encounter real trouble.
The leather artisan is part of a group fighting a high-value redevelopment plan where one of India's largest slums – one of India’s largest and most storied slums – is scheduled to be razed and modernized by a large business group.
"The distinctive community of this area is unparalleled in the world," states the resident. "But their intention is to dismantle our social fabric and stop us speaking out."
Contrasting Realities
The dank gullies of Dharavi present a dramatic difference to the high-rise structures and Bollywood penthouses that overshadow the neighborhood. Residences are assembled randomly and often missing basic amenities, unregulated industries emit toxic smoke and the atmosphere is permeated by the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.
Among some individuals, the promise of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of luxury high-rises, neat parks, modern retail complexes and residences with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream come true.
"We don't have adequate medical facilities, proper streets or sewage systems and there are no spaces for children to play," says a tea vendor, in his fifties, who relocated from Tamil Nadu in 1982. "The only way is to tear it all down and build us new homes."
Local Protest
But others, such as Shaikh, are fighting against the project.
Everyone acknowledges that this community, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is desperately requiring financial support and improvement. But they worry that this plan – absent of public consultation – might turn valuable urban land into an elite enclave, forcing out the lower-caste, immigrant populations who have been there since the nineteenth century.
This involved these shunned, relocated individuals who built up the vacant wetlands into an extensively researched phenomenon of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose production is valued at between one million dollars and $2m a year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.
Displacement Concerns
Of the roughly a million inhabitants living in the crowded 2.2 square kilometer area, less than 50% will be eligible for replacement housing in the redevelopment, which is projected to take a significant period to finish. Additional residents will be moved to wastelands and coastal regions on the distant periphery of the metropolis, threatening to break up a generations-old community. Certain individuals will not get residences at all.
Those allowed to continue living in the neighborhood will be given flats in multi-story structures, a major break from the evolved, collective approach of dwelling and laboring that has supported Dharavi for many years.
Commercial activities from clothing production to clay work and recycling are likely to reduce in scale and be transferred to a designated "industrial sector" separated from residential areas.
Existential Threat
For residents like the leather artisan, a craftsman and third generation resident to call home this community, the redevelopment presents an existential threat. His informal, three-floor facility makes apparel – formal jackets, premium outerwear, decorated jackets – distributed in premium stores in south Mumbai and internationally.
His family lives in the rooms underneath and laborers and tailors – workers from north India – live in the same building, permitting him to afford their labour. Outside Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are often tenfold costlier for basic accommodation.
Threats and Warning
Within the administrative buildings nearby, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project shows a contrasting outlook. Fashionable inhabitants move around on two-wheelers and eco-friendly transport, purchasing international bread and croissants and enlisting beverages on an outdoor area near a restaurant and dessert parlor. It is a stark contrast from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and budget beverage that maintains the neighborhood.
"This is not improvement for us," states the protester. "It represents a huge property transaction that will make it unaffordable for our community to continue."
There is also skepticism of the business conglomerate. Headed by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and an associate of the national leader – the business group has faced accusations of preferential treatment and questionable practices, which it denies.
While local authorities calls it a partnership, the business group contributed $950m for its majority share. A lawsuit alleging that the project was questionably assigned to the corporation is under review in India's supreme court.
Sustained Harassment
From when they initiated to publicly resist the project, local opponents claim they have been experienced an extended period of pressure and threats – comprising communications, direct threats and insinuations that opposing the development was comparable with opposing national interests – by individuals they claim are associated with the business conglomerate.
Among those accused of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c
