The red mark stencilled above the stairs in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum acts as an eviction notice for long-time residents like Bipinkumar Padaya. “I was born here, my father was born here, my grandfather was born here,” sighed the 58-year-old government employee. “But we don’t have any choice, we have to vacate.”
Soon, bulldozers are expected to enter Asia’s largest slum, located in the heart of Mumbai, to flatten its maze of filthy alleyways and construct a brand-new, modern neighborhood. The massive redevelopment scheme, led by Mumbai authorities and billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani, is characterized as reflecting a modern India that is excessive, ambitious, and brutal.
If the project proceeds, as many as a million residents and workers in Dharavi face displacement. Padaya claimed the authorities’ initial promises have been broken: “They told us they will give us houses and then they will develop this area. But now they are building their own planned areas and trying to push us out. They are cheating us.”
The Economic Engine and Underbelly
Padaya’s ancestors settled in the fishing village of Dharavi in the 19th century. Over decades, waves of migrants swelled the district, which was eventually absorbed by Mumbai, a city of 22 million. Today, Dharavi spans 240 hectares with one of the highest population densities in the world—nearly 350,000 people per square kilometer.
Crammed between two railway lines and a rubbish-choked river, homes, workshops, and small factories operate in close quarters. Dharavi has long been recognized as both the engine room and the underbelly of India’s financial capital. Informal industries, including potters, tanners, and recyclers, are estimated to generate $1 billion annually.
While British director Danny Boyle’s 2008 Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire” was set in Dharavi—a portrayal residents call a caricature—they insist the district, despite being unsanitary, is vibrant and full of life. “We live in a slum, but we’re very happy here. And we don’t want to leave,” Padaya stated.
Building a ‘City within a City’
Construction shielding, marked by towering cranes, is already visible near the slum. SVR Srinivas, CEO of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP), insisted the project will be exemplary, calling it “the world’s largest urban renewal project.”
“We are building a city within a city. It is not just a slum development project,” Srinivas promised, stating that brochures detail new buildings, paved streets, green spaces, and shopping centers. He pledged that “each single family will get a house” and that the plan is to resettle hundreds of thousands of people, “as far as possible, in situ inside Dharavi itself.”
The project lays out strict eligibility conditions for housing:
- Families who lived in Dharavi before 2000 will receive free housing.
- Those who arrived between 2000 and 2011 can buy at a “low” rate.
- Newer arrivals will have to rent homes elsewhere.
The most critical condition is that only ground-floor owners qualify for resettlement, a rule that excludes about half of Dharavi’s population who live or work in illegally built upper floors.
Displacement and the Fight to ‘Save Dharavi’
While some, like Manda Sunil Bhave, are thrilled at the prospect of leaving their cramped homes for a new flat with a toilet—her dream for many years—many neighbors face forced displacement.
Ullesh Gajakosh, who leads the “Save Dharavi” campaign, demands “a house for a house, a shop for a shop.” He stated: “We want to get out of the slums… But we do not want them to push us out of Dharavi in the name of development. This is our land.”
Local businesses fear the destruction of their livelihoods. Leatherworker Wahaj Khan warned that his business, which employs 30 to 40 people, will be “finished” if they are not given space in Dharavi. Similarly, Abbas Zakaria Galwani, representing the 4,000 potters in Dharavi, voiced concerns over space constraints under the new plan, saying, “If Adani doesn´t give us as much space, or moves us somewhere from here, we will lose.”
The Adani Factor and Real Estate Concerns
Billionaire Gautam Adani, whose fortune has soared since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office, has become the primary target of criticism. His conglomerate won the Dharavi contract, pledging to invest around $5 billion in a project that he estimates will cost $7-8 billion and be completed within seven years. Adani holds an 80% stake in the project.
Adani has publicly promised his “good intent” and vowed to create “a new Dharavi of dignity, safety and inclusiveness.” However, skeptics suspect the true motive is lucrative real estate. Dharavi sits on prime land next to the Bandra-Kurla business district, a hub of luxury hotels and high-tech firms.
Shweta Damle, of the Habitat and Livelihood Welfare Association, argued, “This project has nothing to do with the betterment of people’s lives. It has only to do with the betterment of the business of a few people.” She warned that “at best” three-quarters of Dharavi residents will be forced out, causing “an entire ecosystem to disappear.”
