Whether FSI Increase Help Mumbai Real Estate

Keeping in mind its state of real estate-Mumbai, the financial capital of India, is said to be the next Shanghai, however, apprehensive over Indian opposition to change and obsolete laws, World Bank officials urge Indian government to adopt a New York-like FSI policy for Mumbai.

The FSI (Floor Space Index) is the ratio of the total floor area of buildings on a certain location to the size of the land of that location, or the limit imposed on such a ratio. In Mumbai the FSI is 3.45 at Nariman Point, 2.66 in the city and 1 in suburbs.

Considering the fact that Mumbai real estate has a massive housing problem clubbed with ever growing population, a higher FSI is what one would like, but with the kind of infrastructure and property structure Mumbai has, a high FSI is still a distant dream.

"Mumbai don't need surplus FSI," said Chandrashekhar Prabhu, a housing activist and architect, at NATCON 2008. He proposed the FSI of 4 for Mumbai at present. He stressed that, "a rise in FSI cannot come without a correlation with infrastructure."

Quality of life has to be improved to have an elevated FSI and the increase has to be gradual and within limits. Mr Prabhu in his speech also suggested an incremental FSI and a lateral expansion instead of a linear one.

World Bank also agreed that a world class infrastructure is needed to hold a higher FSI. They said," There are not enough hotel rooms in Mumbai, the number is around 5,000. The FSI policy in the US is different from ours, in Manhattan, the FSI is 15. These things need to be studied", media reports.

In a cliché it could be deliberated that Mumbai Real Estate is largely in its booming phase but the concept of FSI has to be diversified and removed from the topic of space and included in the infrastructure.

Mumbai is the creation of renovation, the slum capital of India needs to be first groomed well in order to construct upon its carrying capacity to handle a high FSI and further curb the problem of housing shortage and affordability.

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