Laing O'Rourke is the frontrunner to land a controversial $5bn (£2.4bn) contract that will involve the demolition and compulsory eviction of tens of thousands of slum-dwellers in Mumbai. The Independent on Sunday

The UK's largest privately owned construction company has teamed up with DLF, an Indian property developer, to bid for a giant construction contract to flatten Dharavi and move nearly 60,000 families into high-rise tower blocks.

The land will be redeveloped as expensive residential apartments and new office buildings.

Laing is the only UK bidder. It will compete against India's largest private company, Reliance Industries, most of the country's largest construction groups and seven international groups, including the US’s Tishman Speyer, Hong Kong’s Hutchison Whampoa and Dubai property giant Emaar.

Critics of the project point out that the slum-dwellers have had no say in the project, that the projected number of families to be rehoused underestimates the real number of residents, and that the scheme does not provide facilities for the slum-dwellers, many of whom run small craft businesses, to earn their living.