The rapid redevelopment taking place across Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is placing increasing pressure on essential infrastructure and the environment, according to a new study by environmental group NatConnect Foundation.
The 29-page report, titled Towering Crisis — The City We Are Rebuilding, highlights concerns over the cumulative impact of rising building density on water supply, electricity networks, roads, public transport, fire safety, sewerage, waste management and natural environmental buffers.
According to the study, the central concern is no longer limited to whether individual redevelopment projects comply with plot-level regulations. Instead, it questions whether Mumbai’s existing urban systems can cope with the combined additional demand created by thousands of redevelopment projects.
The report comes amid a significant redevelopment push across the region, driven by ageing buildings, redevelopment policies and increasing demand for additional built-up space. NatConnect Foundation director B N Kumar said the study was undertaken against the backdrop of fragmented planning, growing environmental concerns and mounting pressure on Mumbai’s urban infrastructure.
A key issue highlighted by the report is the increased development potential available under liberal Floor Space Index (FSI) provisions. The study warns that permitted FSI levels reaching as high as 1:9 in certain cases could substantially increase built density without an equivalent assessment of the region’s overall infrastructure capacity.
“The extremely liberal FSI (floor space index) regime, with permissible space ratios going as high as 1:9 in some cases, can multiply built-up density dramatically without a corresponding assessment of the cumulative carrying capacity”
The study argues that higher concentrations of high-rise buildings could intensify demand on already stretched civic networks. Water availability, electricity distribution, drainage and sewerage systems may face additional loads, while increased population density could put greater pressure on roads and public transportation.
Fire and emergency response systems could also face challenges in densely built-up neighbourhoods, particularly where access roads and supporting infrastructure have not expanded alongside construction.
The report further raises concerns about the loss of natural flood buffers and environmental spaces as redevelopment reshapes Mumbai’s urban landscape. It calls for infrastructure capacity and environmental carrying capacity to be considered alongside redevelopment permissions rather than assessing projects individually.
Source: Deccan Herald
