Intimidation, Anxiety and Optimism as Mumbai Residents Face Demolition

Over an extended period, intimidating messages recurred. Initially, reportedly from a retired cop and a retired army general, and then from the authorities. In the end, one resident claims he was ordered to the police station and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or encounter real trouble.

This third-generation resident is among those fighting a multimillion-dollar project where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – faces razed and transformed by a corporate giant.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is unparalleled in the globe," says Shaikh. "But their intention is to eradicate our community and silence our voices."

Contrasting Realities

The cramped lanes of Dharavi stand in sharp opposition to the high-rise structures and Bollywood penthouses that dominate the neighborhood. Homes are built haphazardly and frequently lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations 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 modern district of luxury high-rises, organized recreational areas, contemporary malls and apartments with multiple bathrooms is an aspirational dream achieved.

"There's no proper healthcare, paved pathways or water management and there's nowhere for kids to enjoy," explains a chai seller, in his fifties, who relocated from southern India in the early eighties. "The only way is to demolish everything and construct proper housing."

Community Resistance

However, some, including this protester, are opposing the redevelopment.

None deny that Dharavi, historically ignored as informal housing, is in stark need investment and development. But they are concerned that this initiative – absent of public consultation – is one that will turn a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, forcing out the disadvantaged, immigrant populations who have been there since the nineteenth century.

These were these marginalized, displaced people who built up the uninhabited area into a widely studied marvel of self-reliance and business activity, whose production is estimated at between one million dollars and $2m annually, making it among the globe's biggest unofficial markets.

Resettlement Issues

Among approximately a million people living in the dense sprawling neighborhood, a minority will be eligible for alternative accommodation in the project, which is expected to take an extended timeframe to complete. Additional residents will be transferred to undeveloped zones and saline fields on the far outskirts of Mumbai, threatening to break up a long-established social network. Some will not get homes at all.

Those allowed to stay in Dharavi will be provided units in high-rise buildings, a substantial change from the natural, shared lifestyle of dwelling and laboring that has sustained Dharavi for so long.

Commercial activities from tailoring to clay work and waste processing are expected to reduce in scale and be relocated to a specific "industrial sector" separated from people's residences.

Survival Challenge

For residents like Shaikh, a leather artisan and long-time of his family to live in Dharavi, the redevelopment presents a survival challenge. His rickety, three-floor operation produces garments – formal jackets, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – sold in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and abroad.

Household members dwells in the spaces underneath and employees and sewers – migrants from north India – reside there, enabling him to sustain operations. Outside this community, Mumbai rents are typically significantly costlier for basic accommodation.

Pressure and Coercion

In the government offices close by, a visual representation of the Dharavi project depicts a contrasting perspective. Slickly dressed residents move around on bicycles and electric vehicles, acquiring continental baguettes and pastries and having coffee on a terrace near a coffee shop and dessert parlor. This represents a world away from the inexpensive idli sambar breakfast and budget beverage that supports local residents.

"This is not improvement for residents," states the protester. "This constitutes an enormous real estate deal that will price people out for residents to remain."

There is also distrust of the development company. Headed by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and an associate of the national leader – the conglomerate has faced accusations of crony capitalism and ethical concerns, which it rejects.

While administrative bodies labels it a collaborative effort, the corporation paid $950m for its majority share. A case alleging that the initiative was unfairly awarded to the corporation is under review in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

From when they initiated to publicly resist the redevelopment, local opponents assert they have been experienced ongoing efforts of pressure and threats – involving communications, clear intimidation and insinuations that speaking against the development was equivalent to opposing national interests – by figures they claim work for the business conglomerate.

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