The minimal FSI currently exists in the Island city of Mumbai and its Suburbs is surely affecting the city’s housing sector and quality of life of people living there. The city boasts one of the highest population influxes (12 million population-highest in India) than any other Indian city and in this current scenario it is farce not to think of increasing the FSI. Currently Mumbai needs around 5,47,434 dwellings but the available number is a meager 72,906 units. According to a report published by Cushman and Weikfield in 2012 Mumbai is expected to witness additional demand of 189,000 units for mid and high-end segment in the next 5 years while the supply in these categories will be 140,806 units. Of the total demand in these two segments, majority (70%) will be seen in the mid-priced housing, but will remain underserviced by 50% in the next five years due to outdated planning legislations. With huge housing backlog along with expected rise in population to 33 million in 2033 from the current 18.9 million it would seem a far-fetched dream to realize its housing shortage. It is not practical to displace slum dwellers or sidewalk dwellers to the fringe area of Mumbai as the infrastructure and transport facilities are not completely developed. The famous fiasco is TMC Malusare project which was not sold out despite of its affordability to middle income and low-income buyers.
Increasing FSI will also curb the highly volatile TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) market which is presently controlled by few developers. At present, only projects in the island city enjoy an FSI of 1.33. In the suburbs, it is 1; for additional FSI, developers have to buy TDR, mostly sold at a premium. There has been a 100% rise in property prices in Mumbai in recent years, primarily because of the high cost of TDR. If a builder buys TDR at Rs 5,000 per sq ft, he will have to add another Rs 5,000 per sq ft towards the cost of land and construction. This forces him to sell flats at Rs 12,000 per sq ft even in a distant suburb. Once there is a decision to increase FSI, there would be less dependency of TDRs to develop housing projects in Mumbai
However, many activists and policy makers caution that increasing FSI will only worsen the quality of life in Mumbai due to crumbling infrastructure. They opined if FSI is higher in the other developed or developing economies, it is because the cities in those economies possess superior infrastructure, including better public transport and open spaces. In my opinion with higher FSI there should be better development plans for quality infrastructure to handle increasing FSI.
With burgeoning population Mumbai not only needs luxury housing but also low-income, middle –income and affordable housing solutions and one way to do that is to make better use of the existing land with a higher FSI. Yet, while increasing FSI is a welcome approach but it should be done in such a way that it adds to the quality of life of a people in Mumbai. The state must look at improving the city’s infrastructure so that Mumbai can rank as one of the best cities in the world.
This post is part of the “Great FSI Debate “. What’s your view? Submit your opinion to info@theurbanvision.com along with a bio & pic.
photo credit: rajkumar1220