Mumbai: Self-inflicted Wounds
Intellectuals in India have been debating how to turn Mumbai into a global financial centre by 2020. But this ambition is hollow if we cannot turn Mumbai into a global city.
At Rs 22,000 to Rs 40,000 per square foot, land prices at Nariman Point in Mumbai are comparable to those at Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Even correcting for a speculative bubble, these prices are abnormally high for a city located in a low-income developing country. Land prices in Singapore and Shanghai are much lower.
High land prices are but one manifestation of a highly distorted land market. Other, less dramatic but far more painful manifestations are to be found in the hardships the residents of Mumbai endure every day: rundown yet scarce housing, shrinking office space, long and arduous commutes, extreme shortage of schools and hospitals, poor water and sanitation facilities, and high cost of personal and domestic services.