Higher, higher and still higher. That's where Mumbai's skyline seems to be heading if the financial capital's civic body's proposal to significantly increase floor space index or FSI for city's Development Plan 2014-2034 is accepted. FSI is the ratio of a building's total area to the measurement of land on which it's constructed.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC has proposed that existing FSI which is between 1 and 1.33 and in place for the past 20 years, can go up to as high as 8. If a building had 4 floors it could now technically have 32. That will depend on the zone in which the development project is taking place. Earlier, the FSI was largely a standard formula. Now, for the first time a variable character has been accorded to it and the FSI will be determined by how close it is to a transportation hub like a railway or a metro station.
"We looked at lessons we have learnt from the past. Earlier we believed that by keeping the FSI under control we would be able to control the population. But that did not happen," Sitaram Kunte, BMC commissioner told NDTV.
"Commercial rates at one point went through the roof and it was compared to rates in New York. This was not a happy situation. It was a failed premise and concept. So we decided to jettison it and go for a fresh approach," Mr Kunte said.
Incidentally, Shanghai and New York - two cities of skyscrapers - both have an FSI of 13 and 15 respectively
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