WB for higher FSI at junctions

The World Bank wants Mumbai to have higher Floor Space Index (FSI) in central business district buildings and major public transport junctions.

FSI indicates how high a developer can build on a plot. The suggestion was made on Thursday by a WB panel led by urban planner Alain Bertaud at a meeting with the government on ways to find out FSI in specific locations.

Senior state government officials like principal secretaries from the urban development department, officials from Mumbai Transformation Support Unit (MTSU) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) attended the meeting.

World Bank officials cited examples of New York, Singapore, and Seoul where the FSI ranges from 10 to 25. Mumbai pales in comparison with an FSI of 1.33 in the island city and two in the suburbs.

During the meeting, the WB pointed out practices adopted by cities like New York, Singapore and Seoul, where the FSI ranges from 10 to 25. Mumbai has a FSI of 1.33 in the island city and 2 in the suburbs.

“These countries have specific parameters to determine FSI for commercial and residential areas. While commercial areas can have high FSI, residential areas can have up to four. And the FSI reduces as one moves away from stations and CBDs,” MTSU project director UPS Madan said. MMRDA will soon try to find out how high the FSI can go up to in Mumbai.

Urban planners have always thought that a higher FSI could lead to more congestion in an over-populated city like Mumbai.