Stencilled just above the stairs, the red mark in Mumbai's Dharavi slum is tantamount to an eviction notice for 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 rumble into Asia's largest slum, in the heart of the Indian megalopolis of Mumbai, flattening its labyrinth of filthy alleyways for a brand-new neighbourhood.

The redevelopment scheme, led by Mumbai authorities and billionaire tycoon Gautam Adani, reflects modern India -- excessive, ambitious, and brutal.

If it goes ahead, many of Dharavi's million residents and workers will be uprooted.

"They told us they will give us houses and then they will develop this area," Padaya said.

"But now they are building their own planned areas and trying to push us out. They are cheating us."

On the fringes of Dharavi, Padaya's one-storey home is crammed into a tangle of alleys so narrow that sunlight barely filters through.

Padaya says his ancestors settled in the fishing village of Dharavi in the 19th century, fleeing hunger and floods in Gujarat, 600 kilometres (370 miles) to the north.

Waves of migrants have since swelled the district until it was absorbed into Mumbai, now home to 22 million people.

Today, the sprawl covers 240 hectares and has one of the highest population........

© International Business Times