Mumbai the next Shanghai?

This story by Veena Krishna

My visit to Shanghai this month threw no surprises at me. Being a television business journalist in Mumbai who has done innumerable discussions on “Mumbai, the next Shanghai”, I know that seeing is believing. And of course if you see Shanghai, you will not believe in that idea for many years to come. This I had heard from many others several times over. After visiting Shanghai, noted Indian novelist Shobhaa De could not believe that the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh could even think of making such tall claims. But why am I bringing this up now? There is another story happening in Mumbai, quietly and rapidly, that I believe may get us a bit closer to the Shanghai of which we dream.

My drive to the office the day after I returned from Shanghai was full of comparisons between the two cities. I love Mumbai for its own charm of old structures, 2-7 storey buildings, and believe me Mumbai has more greenery than Shanghai. If you cut out the slums and dirt, which in certain areas is nonexistent, you are bowled over by the charm of Mumbai.

But there is a big change happening in my neighbourhood, a western suburb in Mumbai that has numerous 5-7 storey buildings that are over 30 years old. The bulldozer will soon bring down all of these buildings to give way to new structures that would be 14-storey and above. This is called The Redevelopment Plan. It’s happening in every nook and corner of Mumbai city.

The Redevelopment Plan brings money into the pockets of everyone. Builders, of course. Flat owners too. They are being paid 80,000 (US$1690) rupees plus per month by the builders to vacate their flats and stay elsewhere till construction is complete. This is big money for these middle class families. And, as goes with the slow pace of infrastructure in India, such projects usually take anywhere between 3-5 years.

What do most flat owners do during this time? Pile on with family elsewhere or then go a bit further away where rent is cheaper. So maybe they can save at least 30,000-40,000 rupees every month out of the 80,000 rupees they get. That’s a lot of extra money. Many others who are old and retired don’t mind the 30 to 40 million rupees that the builders offer them to sell off their flats. That means a retired life they never dreamt of. For the others who don’t sell off, they come back to their bigger flats after 3 years or so, well furnished, posh, with a gym, park and swimming pool. And that’s the change I am talking of and comparing it to Shanghai.In many places in Mumbai they are talking of 40-90 storey buildings too! But that is for the very rich, of whom there are but a few at the moment.

Besides, the lure of money is making small flat owners and shopkeepers on the roadside sell off. I see it happening around my workplace. The landscape of Mumbai is slowly but surely changing. With it will come the road infrastructure of Shanghai that Mumbai dreams of. As someone said to me years ago, it will mean only the rich stay in mainland Mumbai city, which may soon then be called Mainland Mumbai like Mainland Shanghai. So slowly slums may be got rid of, as is already happening.

Talks of these redevelopment plans in housing societies began some 3-5 years back. Getting a consensus among society members has been time consuming. Besides there has been a nexus of builder-society members that stalls many of these projects. Further, moving out for a long period is troublesome for most families with school-age children. Hence many societies have put the idea on the block, mine included. But it will finally happen because most buildings in Mumbai city are more than 40 years old and cannot afford further repairs, and who can deny the lure of better homes with additional money in hand?

I already envision my locality with tall and posh structures. I look at my Shanghai pictures. Mumbai the next Shanghai? Maybe. For now I only wonder if all this is for the better or the worse.