Rapid urbanisation has also caused land prices to increase dramatically. As a result Mumbai has become one of the most expensive cities in the world. The massive increase in population also caused the fall in wages and unemployment. This obviously threatens, in particular, the low income groups who cannot afford proper houses, many of which are the immigrants themselves. The result is the rise of inequality between the poor and the rich. There are also lack of other infrastructures such as education, health care, water supply and sewage systems. Mumbai's location itself imposes many problems for development. The city is on a peninsula surrounded by sea and there is little land for expansion. With the already scarce available land filled up, immigrants often have to reside in poor conditioned shanty towns, often built on dangerous terrains such as near railway tracks or swamps (i.e Dharavi).
Most of the slums are located in Dharavi, a former marshland located in northern Mumbai which had dried up as the settlers moved in. It is home to over 600 000 people. With such a large population in such a small area, coupled with flooding during monsoon seasons, it is not surprising that there are major health issues here. There is also a toilet shortage; with only one toilet per 1 440 residents. As a result the Mahim Creek, a local river, is widely used as a natural toilet for the local residents. This causes major environmental problems when this huge amount of sewage flows out to the Arabian sea. The coastal water in and around Mumbai is under the grip of pollution. In particular, the water of Mahim estuary and near areas show high level of nitrate, phosphate and hydrogen sulphide and low oxygen level. This has a direct effect on the coastal ecosystem; the Mangrove species has been reduced from 14 to only 2 species today.
Despite being perhaps the biggest slum in Asia, Dharavi is the major financial centre in India, generating almost US$40m worth of business annually. It is close to the Bandra Kurla complex, a major central business hub in Mumbai. The Bandra Kurla complex is on land vulnerable to flooding due to lack of planning. On the other hand, Dharavi is now on high ground. These are the reasons why Dharavi is attracted by developers now. But to develop the area it is essential to raze all the slums in Dharavi. There are currently major conflicts between developers and local residents, who are not willing to move. Furthermore, relocating a population of 600 000 people in a short period time is almost impossible. The government is hoping to find a compromise between accommodating the residents and converting Dharavi into a “world class cultural, knowledge, business and health centre. Despite promises of new accommodations, many residents are unwilling to agree to the redevelopment project. The project cannot go ahead unless a majority of the registered residents agree to it, but many residents of Dharavi are unregistered – their views on the matter will simply be ignored. Moreover, some community leaders claim that the government and developers have used underhanded tactics such as bribery to try to get people to sign agreements. If development is to proceed, financial pressure cause developers to change the planned housing into more valuable developments of commercial and office premises for the growing business area.
